Manchester City midfielder Rodri made his first start in nine months as the Blues beat Juventus in the Club World Cup
Rodri impressed against Juventus
Rodri impressed against Juventus(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
He had to start at some point. That was the way Pep Guardiola breezily brushed off Rodri's return to the Manchester City lineup nine months after he last made one.
In a sense, he was right. As the Ballon d'Or winner works his way back to fitness, it was always inevitable that after coming off the bench in some matches he would eventually start one.
Except it didn't have to be this one. City went into this game against Juventus at the Club World Cup - by far their most difficult group opponent in a tournament they want to win - far from where they wanted to be; Guardiola had been annoyed at the slow play against Al Ain that meant they were only second on goal difference ahead of this decider.
It did not feel insignificant then, that he turned to the man who can control the tempo of a game like nobody else can in world football. He may have started at some point, but the previous match against Al Ain or even a last-16 game with Al Hilal would have seen lower stakes.
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It brought to mind Rodri's first return from injury, the penultimate Premier League game of the season against Bournemouth. It turned into a warm occasion for Kevin De Bruyne's send-off, but before that there was real jeopardy against a good team where defeat would have been City's second in a matter of days and left them with serious work to do to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Rodri had to return to the squad at some point, yet it was still a conscious decision to bring him back for that one. The stage was bigger than it needed to be, while being exactly the kind of stage City dream of Rodri still being able to thrive on after his injury.
It shouldn't have been a surprise to see Rodri so good against Juventus either. His previous appearances in this tournament haven't been anything to write home about, and enough for some desperate people to start making compilations of misplaced passes; they had little to go on on Thursday.
Guardiola will dream of playing Rodri every game from now, building that promising relationship with new signing Tijjani Reijnders. With the best player in the world back in the starting line-up, City looked loads better.
The performance wasn't quite as simple as that and neither is Rodri's return. The player himself has said it will take months for him to be back to his best and City are already preparing for alternatives because they recognise the nagging doubts that he cannot go back to such a high level every few days.
How they have used him so far though bodes well for what is to come. If you can't have all of Rodri, you probably want his level in the biggest games when it matters most and the way City have unflinchingly thrown him into those situations tells you what is needed about how they feel his recovery is going.
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