Manchester City midfielder Rodri, has called on his teammates to raise their standards after the 2-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday, Afrosport reports.
The Citizens were in front after 34 minutes through Erling Haaland but were pegged back in the second half after veteran midfielder and former City player James Milner equalised from the penalty spot before Brajan Gruda scored the winner for the Seagulls in the 89th minute.
Reflecting on the defeat, Rodri said: “It’s disappointing because we’re Man City and we come here to win. But this is the reality, we are not at the level for a long, long time.
“The only way to come back is to look at ourselves. That’s the reality.
“I think we started well but in the second half we dropped a little bit, and here at their home with the pressure and two big mistakes from us and then 2-1.
“We’re missing the level, I don’t know, call it what you want. It’s a matter of the team, changes, new players have to adapt and when you change the team that much it is difficult. This is our reality, it’s not excuses.
“I don’t think we had control of the game. I don’t think we were at our best, we didn’t create much. It’s many aspects. Today we should win because the two goals we conceded are two mistakes.
“Some of the mistakes are like kids mistakes. This is football. When we lose it is easy to point at everyone. The reality is we have to raise the level if we want to compete for the Premier League.
“We have to look to ourselves and see that this is not the way to achieve things. Let’s go to the international break, clean our minds and come back stronger.”
Rodri was making his first start of the season and completed the 90 minutes for the first time in almost a year when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for the bulk of the 2024-25 season.
He is considered an integral part of the team with his absence believed to be a reason for City’s slump in form last term that almost saw them miss out on Champions League.
The 29-year-old has however dismissed those claims of his importance to the team after the defeat ended a run of 49 games unbeaten when he started.
“I’m not Messi. I’m not going to come back and make the team win and win,” he stated. This is a collective, when we won in the past, I needed all my team-mates.
“For sure I have to recover and find my best level. It’s not because I’m back we’re going to win. It’s a collective sport. Hopefully after the break we can come back much better.”
❌ | Streak over!
Manchester City’s last 50 Premier League matches with Rodri in the starting lineup:
✅✅🤝✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅🤝✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅🤝🤝🤝✅🤝✅✅✅✅✅✅🤝✅✅✅🤝🤝✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅🤝🟥
For the first time since 5 February 2023 (v Tottenham), The Citizens have… pic.twitter.com/dxyIcTp8xU
— Sofascore Football (@SofascoreINT) August 31, 2025
Man City will hope to get back to winning ways when they face rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium after the international break.
