On Sunday, Rodri sealed a 2-1 victory for Manchester City over Sheffield United, extending the champions’ unblemished start to the Premier League season after Erling Haaland had already scored once and missed a chance.
Prior to giving City the lead at Bramall Lane after the break, Haaland’s first-half penalty attempt off the post was stopped by the goalpost.
Five minutes left, Jayden Bogle equalised against the flow of play as City was about to lose ground.
Three minutes later, Rodri rescued City with an incredible goal that put Pep Guardiola’s team in first place after three straight wins.
Guardiola was not present for City’s most recent victory because he was watching television while recuperating from back surgery in Barcelona.
The City manager had regular communication with Juanma Lillo, his replacement at Bramall Lane who will also be in charge of the match against Fulham on Saturday.
Knowing that City will succeed without him will have aided Guardiola’s recuperation. It was an enormous success for Guardiola, who now has 200 league victories with City in just 269 games, shattering Jose Mourinho’s previous Premier League record of 326 games set in 2020. Despite doing it from a distance.
City has opened a season with three straight league victories for the first time since 2016, sending a message to their title rivals that last season’s treble victory has not satiated their thirst for success.
City ought to have taken the lead when John Egan’s extended arm saved Julian Alvarez’s cross in the 36th minute. Haaland, though, hit his penalty against the post. The Norwegian stood there looking dumbfounded as the ball bounced to safety. It was Haaland’s first missed penalty attempt in the Premier League after seven successful attempts.
When Kyle Walker’s cross presented Haaland with yet another excellent opportunity, it seemed as though the striker was having a bad day.
After Mateo Kovacic’s ball, Wes Foderingham blocked a close-range chip from Haaland.
Haaland, however, repaid City’s dominance of the pitch by outmuscling Jack Robinson at the far post to head in his third goal of the year from Jack Grealish’s alluring cross in the 63rd minute.
Before Blades replacement Bogle tied the score in the 85th, City had the lead. Walker extended a United effort that resulted with Bogle’s fierce shot deflecting off Nathan Ake while playing against the team he supported as a youth by making a foolish backheel inside his own area.
Walker atoned for himself by regaining control outside the United area, and three minutes later City regained the lead when Rodri smashed into the top corner from 12 yards.
