Football News

Rodri reveals Man City ‘party’ after confidence-boosting Burnley win

By Harry Edwards

Manchester City's Rodrigo celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Premier League match at Turf Moor, Burnley.

Published: 16:43, 4 December 2019

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has admitted the team partied in the dressing room after beating Burnley on Tuesday evening.

The defending Premier League champions went into the game 11 points behind current league leaders Liverpool having drawn 2-2 with Newcastle United at the weekend, despite leading twice.

Tuesday represented an opportunity for Man City to momentarily close the gap to eight points, with Liverpool playing on Wednesday evening. And it was an opportunity they grabbed with both hands.

Man City’s Turf Moor party: Five things to know…

  • Man City beat Burnley 4-1 on Tuesday to momentarily move eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
  • Gabriel Jesus scored twice alongside goals from Rodri and Riyad Mahrez.
  • The champions haven’t had the best defence of their title so far, already losing three games.
  • But Rodri revealed Man City partied in the dressing room after a confidence-boosting win.
  • Man City next face Manchester United as they look to keep the pressure on Liverpool.

Gabriel Jesus, starting in place of the injured Sergio Aguero, gave Man City a half-time lead with a wonderful curling effort from a wide angle.

The Brazilian then doubled Man City’s advantage shortly after the break before Rodri and Riyad Mahrez put Pep Guardiola’s side out of sight. Robbie Brady scored a late consolation, meaning Man City’s quest for a first Premier League clean sheet since October 26 will go on, but the points were secured.

Man City’s victory also ended their run of two games without a win across all competitions, which had also stretched to just one in five prior to the Burnley game.

And Rodri admitted Man City’s stars partied in the dressing room, such was the boost of the comfortable win.

“We needed this victory,” the Spaniard said.

“It was a good performance. Sometimes, when you lose or draw, your confidence can go down, and after this victory, we were really having a party in the dressing room because we needed it to bring up the mentality and confidence of the team.

“Everyone is human, and when you don’t get the results you need to get people’s confidence up, this was an important victory. We will fight until the end because that is our mentality and identity.”

It was a change in atmosphere in the Man City dressing room after they were greeted with a pitch-black setting upon their arrival at Turf Moor, having to be rescued by camera crews covering the game.

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Guardiola: Man City have bought “incredible player”

While Rodri’s night in Burnley will mainly be remembered for his thunderbolt of a strike from outside of the area, it was an excellent overall performance from the Spanish midfielder.

He was calm on the ball, having more touches than any other player and completing 91% of his passes, but also proved a force to be reckoned with, making more tackles than any of his Man City teammates.

And Guardiola hailed Rodri as an incredible player who could be key for the club for years to come.

“Rodri was incredible for his physicality, the way he trained, he wants to learn,” Guardiola told reporters.

“It’s nice to talk to him about tactics, he gives his opinions about the way he played, left to right, right to left. He was in the right moment, he helped us, he adjusted and he’s perfect for this league.

“I think Man City bought an incredible player for the next years.”