"For me, they're lucky. With two or three things they win this game. We have to congratulate them, but it's not the way I like to play"
Monday 28 September 2020 16:27, UK
Rodri has criticised Leicester's "lucky" tactics following Manchester City's humiliating 5-2 defeat on Sunday, claiming that football is "not fair".
Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick as Leicester ran riot in a stunning victory over Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium, despite having just 28.3 per cent possession and seven shots on target, compared to City's 16.
It was the first time a Guardiola team has conceded five goals - in what was his 686th game as a manager - and just the second time the Spaniard has lost his opening home game of a league season.
Rodri, speaking to Sky Sports after the match, was not impressed with how Brendan Rodgers' side set up for the game.
"Football has not been fair with us," he said. "We deserved many things. We played, we tried. Only with a few things they come here, do two or three things and beat us. I don't know if it's our fault or their strength.
"I am young and I try to learn every game. But games like this when [the] opponent does nothing but wait, wait, wait - even when you are winning - you are a bit confused and you don't know what to do.
"For me, the learning from this match is to score one goal then do a hundred passes at the back - that's it, then game over. But we try and go for the second, the third, that makes us lose balls and concede.
"For me, they're lucky. With two or three things they win this game. It's OK and we have to congratulate them, but it's not the way I like to play."
Sky Sports' Gary Neville:
"They [City] were so good in the opening 25 minutes but as soon as Leicester broke on them a couple of times, you felt that, psychologically, it just damaged them," Neville told Sky Sports.
"Some of the wounds from last season are reappearing. The bugs that cost them the title. Certainly, you can get at this Manchester City back four a lot quicker than you could previously. They don't seem to react in transition higher up as they did."
On the three penalties: "Three different players making the same basic error. Rashness. Naivety. Whatever you want to call it, it is there in that backline. Pep Guardiola is looking to see if he can defend his players but I am not sure he can.
"His defenders aren't good enough, whichever way you want to look at it. He is a great coach, one of the greatest coaches of all time. But one-on-one, once his defenders get in those positions, they are really poor. It is almost like in their mind they cannot get their head around the fact that someone has got goal-side of them."
Sky Sports' Graeme Souness:
"City were a shadow of the team we have seen for the last few years. They are missing their 'fox in the box' and they huffed and puffed for most of the game.
"Leicester frustrated the life out of City. Anyone playing City in the next few weeks - that's the blueprint. City had five shots on target in the whole of the 90 minutes.
"Once you break the first press and get at them, you have a real chance of hurting them. City shot themselves in the foot with the penalties they gave away."
Sky Sports' Micah Richards:
"Man City have just become a possession-based team. I'm not blaming it just on Rodri. But he doesn't read danger like Fernandinho and the backline get exposed time and time again.
"How many times does it have to happen before City rectify it? Everyone talks about the defence - and it was a shambles, it really was embarrassing.
"But there is more to it than that. They are weak, too weak."
