We asked Rodri (27), the “pillar” of Manchester City, the best player except for his teammates. Referring to top-class players, he picked Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham Hotspur) as the “captain” of the Premier League. Rodri conducted an exclusive interview with SPOTV, a Premier League broadcasting authority. Many questions and answers were exchanged in an amicable atmosphere.
At the end of the interview, they asked about the three best players except for Manchester City players. “Jude Bellingham is showing a really good performance in the Spanish Primera Liga. Harry Kane (who left for Bayern Munich this summer) seems to be adjusting really well to German soccer,” Rodri said.
After mentioning Primera Liga and Bundesliga, he said Premier League. Rodri said, “In England, I think we should call them Madison and Son Heung-min. The two players have continued to play really well at Tottenham.”
They picked two Tottenham players in the Premier League and were not perfect trio. However, as Son Heung-min and Madison have been leading a new era for Tottenham after Kane’s departure, it seems that rather than just pointing fingers at Son, the combination of the two players came to mind.
Rodri could have thought of Son Heung-min. Son was particularly strong against Manchester City, the Premier League’s championship rival. Of all the goals he has scored since the Hamburg era, he has scored a whopping eight against Manchester City. He is the fourth team to have scored the most goals in his career, following Southampton (12 goals), Leicester City (10 goals) and Dortmund (nine goals).
The same holds true for this season (2023-24 season) with the Tottenham captain’s armband around his arm. He displayed sharp performance in an away match against Manchester City during the “14th round of the 2023-24 Premier League” held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on Thursday.
The game against Manchester City was a difficult moment for Tottenham. Tottenham failed to secure points since November due to a string of key players. The team failed to display 100 percent complete performance due to dislodged players from its core line including James Maddison and Mickey van der Ben.
Son failed to score an offensive point in November, but continued his senses with an offside hat-trick against Aston Villa. He maintained his presence as he ranked third in the Premier League after Erling Holland and Mohamed Salah. 메이저사이트
It was the same in the game against Manchester City. Six minutes after the kickoff whistle, Son shook the Manchester City net. Tottenham blocked Manchester City corner kick attack and hit the space behind with a counter attack. After catching the ball, Kluzewski checked Son Heung-min playing forward and poked a penetrating pass.
After grabbing the ball, Son quickly sprinted toward the Manchester City penalty box. He turned with his header and faced the goalkeeper diagonally. Seeing the par post on the other side, Son drilled through goalkeeper Ederson with a bold right footed shot. It was a goal that instantly lost the team’s point of attack due to its sluggish performance in November.
He has proved once again that he is the “Manchester City killer.” Son Heung-min always posts offensive points whenever his team needs them, which is even more fatal to Manchester City. He scored goals against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League and other matches, before roaring.
However, the cheers at the Etihad Stadium did not last long. He shook his head with an own goal in the eighth minute of the first half. Manchester City got a free kick, but Álvarez put a right-footed cross into the box. It was a kick aimed at forward striker Holland and it hit Son Heung-min’s thigh. The goalkeeper Vicario ran to the other side and couldn’t stop the deflected ball.
Manchester City gained momentum after Son scored his own goal. Hollande received a Bernardo Silva pass, creating a perfect scoring opportunity. Tottenham focused on its defense and blocked Manchester City’s attacks. However, he shook his head by allowing an additional run in the 31st minute of the first half.
Manchester City actively utilized Doku, who was actively playing on the side. Doku held the ball near the box and looked at his teammates, and handed the ball over to Alvarez, who was rushing into the empty space. As Alvarez drew the attention of Tottenham’s defense, Phil Foden moved to a good position. Foden took advantage of the moment and shook the net with a clean shot. It was a scene where you could see Manchester City’s unique positioning and linked play.
In the second half, Son even played a supporting role. After handing over the ball to Roselso, he penetrated into the box and attracted the attention of Manchester City’s defense. Roselso, who caught the ball, had a momentary gap, and Roselso penetrated the Manchester City defense with a quick shot.
He saved one assist to dispel his disappointment in scoring an own goal in the first half. Of course, Manchester City overwhelmed Tottenham with Jack Grealish as the substitute. Grealish then scored his first goal of the season by penetrating Tottenham’s defense with accurate passes.
As Manchester City scored another goal, it seemed to solidify its position to three points. However, Tottenham didn’t give up under Coach Enzi Postecoglou. Dejan Kluzewski’s golden header penetrated the void in Manchester City, and secured one point through a buzzer-beater just before the end of regular hours.
After the match, Manchester United legend Roy Keane gave a big thumbs-up to Son’s performance through Sky Sports in the U.K., saying, “If you look at his performance in person, you can’t believe his play. He is creating a standard that exemplifies all strikers.”
In the match against Manchester City, Son scored one goal and one assist to become the official Man of the Match (MOM) of the Premier League. According to Football statistics firm Foot Mob, Son scored 7.7 points on the day. The highest rating at Tottenham was Kluzewski (8.4 points), who scored the last equalizer.
Although he won the official MOM, he was not selected as the Premier League’s Team of the Week. Son Heung-min was not included in the Premier League’s official team of the week in the 14th round by the legendary striker. Alan Shearer selected Bukayo Saka (Arnall), Luca Corleosho (Aston Villa), Jackie Amdouni (Aston Villa), and Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United) as the best strikers in the 14th round.
BBC commentator Garth Crooks also voted for Kluzewski instead of Son. “Son Heung-min’s first goal in the match against Manchester City was attributable to Kluzewski’s outstanding pass. He is the player who energized Tottenham’s attack on the day. It was also Kluzewski who scored the equalizer at the end. It was impressive. If Christian Romero and Mickey van der Ben were in the back, the result could have been different,” he said, explaining why he excluded Son.
“It happens often in soccer. I did my best for my team, but they didn’t respond properly,” Son said after the match, although he regretted his own goal. “Manchester City is the best team in the world. But it happens sometimes. Such results make us love soccer. We didn’t give up until the end. I believed we could do it. I am so proud of my team. I am so happy that we scored against Manchester City.”
“I tried several good passes in the first half and even gave an assist in the second half,” England’s Football London said. “It would not be strange to get a nine-point rating at the match against Manchester City, but I gave him eight points because he scored an own goal. It was a huge misfortune for a Manchester City free kick to become an own goal after being hit by Son’s thigh.”
After bringing a point to Manchester City, he sought to rebound, but it collapsed at home against West Ham. Son publicly criticized his teammates and demanded concentration. Spurs rallied from a 4-1 home win against Newcastle United, and Son has also set double-digit goalscoring records in the Premier League for the eighth consecutive season. He also played for 88 minutes against Nottingham Forest, helping Tottenham win 2-0.
Let’s return to Rodri’s story. Rodri was hired by Atletico Madrid for a transfer fee of 70 million euros in 2019. With a thorough understanding of Pep Guardiola’s soccer from his debut season, he has become a pillar of Manchester City and has played an indispensable role.
The same applies to this season. However, he was sent off at a match against Nottingham Forest in the sixth round, and missed the seventh and eighth rounds (Wolverhampton) due to his absence. He also failed to secure points in all of the matches without Rodri despite having accumulated scores of warnings in the 15th round (Aston Villa).
Rodri was well aware of that. When asked about his team’s poor performance during his absence, he said, “I was disappointed to myself as I couldn’t help the team. It’s not familiar to me that I couldn’t play in so many games due to disciplinary action,” adding, “However, I have no choice but to accept the situation. The team also tried to show good performance. I was disappointed to lose games that I couldn’t play, but I think it was a good first half.”
He is a “pillar” for Manchester City. When I asked Rodri this question, he hesitated and said, “To be honest… Manchester City was a strong team before. Now they are winning a lot of trophies. Winning trophies for a long time is important. I know I play an important role in the team. But my teammates are also very important in the team.”
Rodri plays in the defensive midfielder position, but he helps his team win with mid-range shots at critical moments. Notably, he gave Manchester City a big year by penetrating Inter Milan with a golden goal in the UEFA Champions League final of the 2022-23 season when the treble was at stake.
At the critical moment, I asked Rodri why he shoots mid-range shots. “This is a scene that usually comes out more often in difficult situations. When I need to hurry up or when I am losing and need a theater goal, I play whatever I want. I play as I feel at the moment. I tend to enjoy successful mid-range shots in situations like this. I used to help my team with a wonder goal a lot, and I hope that will continue to be the case,” he said.
Manchester City are in an unsatisfactory position in the first half. It is in fourth place in the Premier League, five points behind Arsenal, the leader of the club. Only after Boxing Day is played, can they reach the championship title.
Rodri also aspired to win the trophy as a springboard for his rebound in the second half of the year. When asked about his commitment for the rest of the season, he said, “We must continue to maintain the current level for our goals. We are a team that competes every season. I know it will be really difficult, but if we win the Premier League title for four consecutive seasons, it would be fantastic.”
