Guardiola compares Rodri to NBA former superstar Michael Jordan

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has compared one of his players, Rodri, to the NBA great Michel Jordan even as his team is struggling in the Premier League. For the unversed, the defending champions are on the downfall this season across competitions. Earlier this week, they succumbed to their seventh defeat in 10 outings after losing by 2-0 to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.

In fact, the City are on the verge of elimination in the tournament while their progress in the Premier League is also halted. They are in desperate need of a win in their next clash against Manchester United to be played at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (December 15) at 10 PM IST. Ahead of the Manchester derby, Guardiola vented his frustration at the absence of Rodri for this season who recently underwent knee surgery. 

He compared the situation of the NBA team Chicago Bulls’ performance with and without their great player Michael Jordan. 

“This is the problem. With Rodri, we knew it from the beginning. This season we’re playing without the Ballon d’or winner and the best player in England last season.

“Of course it’s difficult. The Chicago Bulls won six NBA's with Michael Jordan, right? Since Jordan retired, how many have they won? The moment we [the players] come back, we’ll be strong again,” Guardiola said.

Rodri won Ballon d’Or for his performance last year

Rodri has been with Manchester City since the 2019-20 season and has so far netted 22 goals to go with 21 assists for the team in 174 appearances in the Premier League. However, this season, he could play only two matches for the team before getting injured and eventually ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Evidently, City have struggled immensely in his absence along with injuries to a few other players as well. They have slipped to the fourth position in the Premier League standings with eight wins, three draws and four losses in 15 matches so far. They are at 27 points currently, as many as 8 fewer than the league leaders Liverpool.

Even Pep Guardiola is now aware that they will have to come up with magical performances to climb in the table.