Pep Guardiola says Rodri wanted to play more minutes than the boss had originally envisaged in Thursday's emphatic 5-2 FIFA Club World Cup win over Juventus.
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As the Spaniard continues his comeback, Guardiola admitted he had planned for him to play for 45 minutes against Juventus in what was our final Group G clash.
But our Ballon d’Or winner, keen to kick on his match fitness after returning from an eight month injury absence, asked for longer and he instead played for 66 minutes of the victory over the Italians which clinched top spot in the group.
“We had to make a step,” said Pep.
“Of course we were lucky a little bit that the sun was behind the clouds, it was hot and humid, but sooner or later he has to play.
“It was a process of 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 35. I said OK, the idea was to play 45 minutes, but at half-time he said no I want to play five or ten minutes more, the game was under control, we had a lot of the ball, he didn’t lose a lot of transitions, int he last two games we conceded a lot of transitions but it didn’t happen that time.
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“Everyone knows how important he is, when the best player in the world isn’t there, it’s a miss. That’s clear.
“But I’m happy he did a good 60 minutes and hopefully he can again help us a lot like he always has since he arrived.”
Watch Guardiola’s full press conference by playing the video above…