Manchester City star admits he 'needs a rest' after Champions League draw with Real Madrid

Rodri has admitted he needs to rest after playing four games in 10 days for Manchester City.

The Spanish midfielder is widely considered the best in the world in his position but has looked leggy in the past two games. Pep Guardiola admitted after their 3-3 draw with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu that Rodri was uncharacteristically poor with the ball.

Rodri believes the lack of rest for the whole team compared to their opponents, who had nine days without a match to prepare for the Champions League clash, contributed to the superiority of the home team in the first half, reports the Manchester Evening News.

However, he praised the mentality of Phil Foden and the rest of the team to fight back and earn a draw that sees them favourites to progress. With the second leg at the Etihad in eight days, Guardiola will have to decide whether Rodri — with more minutes than anyone but Foden in the squad — is needed to play against Luton at the weekend or can be given time off to get back to his sharpest.

«I do need a rest,» Rodri said after the game. «I do. Let's see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. [Rest] is something we are planning, yeah. Every one of us can do better, even myself. But we need to rest to be honest. Phil has been sensational in terms of him scoring a goal when he needed to score. This is the talent he has.

»We showed our mentality to come back. The media has spoken about rest and it's important. They were a bit fresher in the first half than us, it's normal.

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