Manchester City star opens up on 'very bad feeling' in the PL club's dressing room amid their recent poor performances
Rodri has opened up about the 'very bad feeling' in Manchester City's dressing room amid the team's uncharacteristic poor form in the Premier League.
The Cityzens have lost their way in the title race and currently sit five points behind Arsenal, who have 39 points to their name, after 17 matches. Their only win in their last six league games has come against Luton Town (1-2 on 10 December).
During that stint, they have dropped points against Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Chelsea. Speaking about his team's poor form in recent weeks, Rodri said (h/t GOAL):
"[The last few games] left a very bad feeling in the changing room for us so I think it was good for us to stop a little bit and then come here to the [Club] World Cup.
"When you’re in that moment you’re in this mixture of feeling that you have failed and dropping points: sometimes you deserve that, sometimes you don’t. It’s a time when you can’t speak much, you have to be quiet, work as hard as you can and results will come out."
Manchester City are, of course, huge favorites to win the FIFA Club World Cup this season, having beaten Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 on Tuesday (19 December) in Jeddah. They will face Fluminense in the final on 22 December. The Sky Blues have never won the competition in their history.
When is Manchester City's next Premier League game?
Manchester City were slated to face Brentford in the Premier League this weekend but the game has been postponed due to the former being at the Club World Cup.
That game at the Etihad will be played at a later date and City won't be back in action in England until Wednesday, 27 December. They will face Everton at Goodison Park, with the Toffees on a remarkable four-game winning run in the competition.
Manchester City, despite their poor form, would still be one of the favorites for the league title. They have won five of the last six Premier League trophies on offer, having come back from the brink in two of those seasons.
Arsenal, for instance, led the league table for a record 248 days last season but lost the title to Pep Guardiola's side by five points. Similarly, Liverpool (h/t Squawka) entered 2019 with a seven-point lead.
The Reds amassed 97 points that season at an average of 2.55 PPG (points per game) but lost the title by the slimmest margin outside of goal difference.