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Manchester City star Rodri has admitted he needs a rest following the Champions League quarter-final first-leg draw against Real Madrid.
Speaking to the media after the match at Santiago Bernabeu, Rodri claimed that he was tired and needed a break. The Spaniard has been a key figure for Manchester City since joining from Atletico Madrid. He was quoted by AP as saying:
"We showed our mentality to come back, to be honest. The media has spoken about rest and it's important. They were a bit fresher in the first half than us, it's normal. But I think the mentality of the team to go against them and come back with those goals sums up the mentality of the champions we are. I do need a rest. Let's see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yeah."
Rodri has played all but eight matches for Manchester City in all competitions this season. He was suspended for three of those matches and was not in the squad for their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup 3rd round.
Rodri confident ahead of Manchester City vs Real Madrid second leg
Rodri has admitted that he is happy that the second leg of the UEFA Champions League tie is at home. The Spaniard has claimed that they are strong at home and the draw is a good result for them to take from Spain.
He said:
"It's one game in our home now and we are very strong there. We know how strong we are in our home. The key thing on Tuesday night – we knew whatever happened it wasn't going to be over, even if we won or we lost. We have a draw that is the same result we had last season."
He added:
"In terms of how the game was, it's a good result in terms of the feeling of the team. We were finding the spaces in the second half, we did it great and now we move to Manchester, to our home and we know how strong we are there. If we copy the first 20-30 minutes of the second half it's going to be difficult for them. We will need our crowd to be there for us."
Manchester City face Luton Town on Saturday this weekend, before taking on Real Madrid in the quarterfinals second leg on Wednesday.
