Rodri aimed a dig at Real Madrid after his Manchester City side were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the contest, the question was whether Pep Guardiola’s men could take a huge step towards winning yet another Champions League title.
But that was not to be the case, as City suffered defeat in the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since the 2019/2020 season when they lost to Lyon.
This time around, Manchester City were facing the kings of Europe’s elite competition, who showcased the value of their pedigree by exacting revenge for their brutal defeat to the hosts last season.
In some ways, Real Madrid’s dramatic victory was an upset.
Los Blancos were yet to win a game at the Etihad Stadium before their latest triumph.
Rodri aims dig at Real Madrid after Champions League exit for Man City
Having witnessed the gulf in class between the two sides last season and considering City looked like the better team on the night, it was a surprise to see the Spanish giants get the job done.
But one of the golden rules of the Champions League is to never write Real Madrid off as they fight until the end in a way not many teams do in football.
That was proven at the Etihad Stadium as La Liga’s heavyweights found a way to stay in the game, despite being under the cosh.
As for Manchester City, their hopes of winning back-to-back trebles came crashing down.
Unfortunately, this occurred in front of their home fans.
City’s next challenge is to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday; a game they will be desperate to win now.
After Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League, Rodri fired a subtle shot at Real Madrid.
“Well, to be honest, today, I only saw one team”, he said [via HaytersTV].
The midfield maestro continued, “But in terms of defending, they defend and knew how to suffer and yeah, of course, we know how tough is Real Madrid. But in my opinion, we should go through.”
“In terms of chances, everything but this is the trick of this competition. They know quite well how to play, congratulate them.”
Tough to criticise Rodri
Many would perhaps slate Rodri for his comments about Real Madrid as at the end of the day, they got the result, unlike Manchester City.
In football, the team that gets over the line deserve to be the victors rather than the ones who find ways not to.
But then again, Manchester City anchor Rodri was speaking right after a physically and mentally exhausting battle against Real Madrid.
Emotions must have been running high and after the Spaniard’s side were the superior team on the night, he perhaps felt they deserved to go through.
However, such is the nature of football and Rodri and his Manchester City teammates must hone in on where they went wrong against Real Madrid.