With two days to go before Brighton and Hove Albion play Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is waiting on news of two defenders as he counts the cost of a draw with Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equaliser at the Etihad Stadium as title-chasing City were pegged back to 1-1 by the managerless Londoners yesterday (Sunday 4 January).
The result left them six points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal – and they will be looking to return to winning ways when Brighton visit on Wednesday (7 January).
The late leveller compounded City’s woes after the loss of two centre-backs – Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias – to injury in the second half.
The pair were due to be assessed today but manager Guardiola admitted that it “doesn’t look good” for either, suggesting both were facing lay-offs.
That would further limit Guardiola’s defensive options with John Stones having been out for the past month with a thigh injury and Rayan Ait-Nouri away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
In addition, midfielder Nico Gonzalez missed the Chelsea game with a knock and Guardiola is also without Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic and Omar Marmoush for the match against Brighton.
The positive news from the weekend was the successful return of Rodri, who played the full 90 minutes, making his first start since October.
The influential midfielder has suffered a number of setbacks, the latest being a hamstring problem, as he tries to come back from the serious knee problem that ruled him out for much of last season.
The Spain international said: “It’s been a terrible, terrible time for me. Everything that comes right now is a gift. Every minute that I’ve been on the pitch, it’s a joy for me.
“Thank you to God for giving me this second opportunity to enjoy my profession and recover my smile.”
Rodri was particularly strong in the first half and created a chance for Erling Haaland, who hit a post, before having a hand in the opening goal by Tijjani Reijnders.
City continued to control large spells of the game but were unable to breach a resilient Chelsea side for a second time.
It had been an unsettling week for Chelsea after the sudden departure of manager Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day but, under the temporary stewardship of under-21 boss Calum McFarlane, they showed character to battle back.
Fernandez snatched the point when he struck from close range in the fourth minute of time added on after initially miskicking and then being denied by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Rodri said: “In winter we know all the games, we know all the players we have out, but this is the rhythm. We have to adjust.
“There are no excuses. We have to go through these situations and lift our heads up and focus on the next game.”
