The Spanish midfielder was on target as we began our 2023/24 Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade.
City had 22 shots in the first half compared to just one from the Serbian opponents, but we still found ourselves behind at half-time.
A Julian Alvarez double turned the game around as Pep Guardiola’s side made a similar response to that in the 3-1 win away to West Ham at the weekend, as City maintained our calm.
“It was a very tough game,” Rodrigo said. “Sometimes in the Champions League you don’t know much about the teams you face.
“They’re a very good team and defend very good - following you man to man. Sometimes it’s like this and you have to find the space.
“We had five or six chances in the first half where we couldn’t score and were not clinical enough but in the second half we kept pushing, we were even better, and we got the win. We were resilient.
“The most important thing is winning - it gives you confidence. It’s experience - to be calm. It’s a new year, we face new goals, and we want to win the same as last season.”
His performance drew praise from Guardiola who described Rodrigo as the best holding midfielder in the world after the match.
And the 27-year-old revealed that the boss gave the players confidence to keep on pushing and overturn the deficit.
“He wasn’t angry after what he saw in the first half,” Rodrigo said. “A bit upset that we have to take the responsibility to score one of those key chances.
“He sent his message and gave us confidence and calmness. Sometimes football is like this - it was like West Ham again - we remained calm, stuck to the process and we came back. It was a good performance. We have to be proud of what we did.”
It was a strong start to the Champions League and comes after winning our first five matches in the Premier League.
After winning the Treble last season, Rodrigo said there is no lack of desire to keep challenging for trophies.
“We always have hunger,” he added. “We train to win it again. We know the feeling of winning it - it’s so, so special and so, so tough to do it.
“We’ll take it step by step. We want to start good this season, follow the plan and be solid in the games.”
