Former winger Jermaine Pennant has branded Manchester City a "one-man team" amid their slump following Rodri's injury - as he praised old club Liverpool for its squad planning.
The Premier League champions' title defense suffered another blow as Pep Guardiola's struggling side had to settle for a point following a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. That result meant that the Citizens have now won just once in nine outings in all competitions, with just a single victory in six league games.
Their ailing form leaves them eight points behind pace-setters Liverpool in the league standings in fourth position. Now, former Reds star Pennant has admitted that he feels that City's reliance on the talents of one player has been exposed this term after what has been an alarming slide.
Speaking to Mega Dice, the pundit confessed that Liverpool boasts better squad depth than City, with this having become apparent after Rodri was ruled out for the season in September. He said: "Liverpool aren’t as dependant on one player as Manchester City are with Rodri.
"I don’t think if Liverpool were to lose Ryan Gravenberch to injury at any point that it would be too costly to their season. We saw it against Newcastle, Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis MacAllister filled in for him when he was taken off and can perform well in that position and do a job, and there was a little burst of energy in the middle of the park.
"If they did lose him to injury it would hurt, of course, because what he’s been doing this season has been fantastic and he does help Liverpool get out of trouble. Liverpool are proven without him, though, so it certainly wouldn’t be as detrimental as we’ve seen the loss of Rodri has been to City."
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has been able to effectively deal with absences so far this season
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has been able to effectively deal with absences so far this season (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
As Pennant alludes, Guardiola has had to use stars including Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in an unfamiliar role at the base of City's midfield following Rodri's injury. However, a lack of an obvious natural replacement for the Ballon d'Or winner is widely considered to be a major reason for the team's poor form.
Still, Guardiola was eager to point out the positives as his side was held to a draw against Palace as he praised his players for coming from behind twice in the game. He told BBC Sport: "We take a point. We fought incredible and came back twice.
"It's a season to suffer. We'll see what happens in the last month. We tried. Big compliment for the opponent. We cannot talk about the title race when we lose four games in a row and draw."
The former Barcelona boss added: "We'll try to recover players. We'll see in the last month. We have to do more games to be consistent. It's difficult in the situation we have. I'm really pleased for the players - they fought and did everything."