BBC pundits Chris Waddle and Micah Richards both believed Manchester City missed Rodri despite getting over the line to beat Fulham 3-2 on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side remain unbeaten this season but surrendered several big chances against the Cottagers, with Adama Traore in particular guilty of spurning a string of presentable openings.
“I looked at Manchester City and they looked very leggy compared to Fulham,” former Newcastle and Tottenham winger Chris Waddle told Sports Report on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Rodri is hard to replace. [Ilkay] Gundogan played alongside [Mateo] Kovacic. Rodri is a different player compared to the rest of them for me. He does everything and he’s a presence there as well.
“In my eyes, they did miss him.”
Former City defender Richards added: “There’s something with Rodri. It’s not just how good a player he is, it’s how he controls and dictates the game and the tempo of it.
“You look at the scoresheet, see Kovacic scored two goals and think he had a good game. But, just defensively, it is his positioning. When City have a lot of players going forward, Rodri just has the art of knowing where to be to receive the ball on the counter-attack – and against Fulham that was non-existent.
“I thought it maybe could have been a game for Kyle Walker. With the pace of Traore, Rico Lewis got caught out a couple of times.”
Listen to Saturday’s Sports Report on BBC Sounds
