Rodri joined Manchester City and appeared unbeaten 27 times, Guardiola can succeed

In the early morning of June 27, a highly-watched game was held in the 2025 Club World Cup group stage. Manchester City defeated Juventus 5-2, achieving three consecutive wins in the group stage to ensure the first qualifying in the group. This game marks the first time Rodri has made a successful start since he recovered from injury. In his last 27 international games, Manchester City has won 18 wins and 9 draws unbeaten. In the previous two group matches, Rodri came on as a substitute, and Guardiola was very cautious about using this important midfield core. When facing the powerful Juventus, in order to compete for the top spot in the group, Manchester City finally sent Rodri to the starting lineup. This is also the first time that Spain's midfielder has recovered from injury. After the start of the game, Manchester City led the start. In the 9th minute, new aid Aitnuri assisted Doku to score a goal, breaking the deadlock. Although Juventus used goalkeeper Ederson's turnover to tie the score two minutes later, Kalulu's owned by Manchester City then gave Manchester City a lead. In the second half, Haaland and other players appeared. In the 52nd minute, Nunes assisted Haaland to score, and Manchester City expanded the score to 3-1. Subsequently, Foden and Savignho scored goals in the 69th and 75th minutes respectively, and Manchester City led 5-1. Although Juventus's Flahovic scored a goal, Manchester City finally won 5-2.

In this game, Rodri played for 66 minutes, completing 1 shot, 1 breakthrough, 1 key pass, 1 steal and 1 interception, and also won 4 times in the ground confrontation. As a midfielder, Rodri performed steadily and controlled the game situation, allowing Manchester City to invest more in the offense and achieve such a big victory. Although Rodri has not fully returned to his competitive form, his rapid recovery is encouraging. The importance of

Rodri is self-evident. In his last 27 international games, Manchester City has won 18 and 9 draws unbeaten. Manchester City's last game lost due to Rodri's absence dates back to the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals in 2022 away against Real Madrid.

Last season, Rodri suffered a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus injury in the Premier League game against Arsenal, missing most of the games. Manchester City was in trouble without him, and suffered an embarrassing situation of losing five consecutive games, losing seven games and winning only one game in 13 games, which made Guardiola's coaching career very humiliated. In the end, Manchester City stopped in the Champions League playoffs, ranked third in the Premier League, and the FA Cup also lost to Crystal Palace in an upset, and encountered the four major players.

In this mini transfer window before the start of the Club World Cup, Manchester City signed several strong players, and their overall strength has been significantly improved. However, as we all know, a healthy Rodri is the most critical for Manchester City. Now, Rodri's stable performance has made fans look forward to the new season.