Pep Guardiola hails new £50m signing as a ‘mini-Rodri’ after starring in Man City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle
- Nico Gonzalez made an impressive Premier League debut against Newcastle
- The 23-year-old was signed from Porto for a £50million fee in January window
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Pep Guardiola hailed Nico Gonzalez after his impressive Premier League debut in Manchester City‘s 4-0 win over Newcastle.
While most of the attention was given to Omar Marmoush, who netted his first City hat-trick in the thumping win, Guardiola reserved special praise for the former Barcelona youngster.
The City boss even went so far as to describe the 23-year-old Spaniard as a ‘mini-Rodri’ in a clear nod to his belief that the club have finally plugged the gaping hole left by the midfielder.
‘The presence from Nico helps us a lot in 50/50s. He wins and we can go. #ManCity made an incredible investment for the future. He’s 23, he’s like a mini-Rodri. It’s a big complement but in duels he is. He’s far away in other things because Rodri is the best.’
Gonzalez, who was brought in from Porto for a £50million fee in January, completed 100 of his 103 passes on Saturday afternoon and had 114 touches in all. His stellar debut also included four successful ground duels from as many attempts and one interception.
The midfielder is far from a like-for-like replacement for Rodri, who suffered an ACL injury in September, but his performance against the Magpies showed his importance to the team in his compatriot’s absence.
Nico Gonzalez made an impressive Premier League debut for Manchester City on Saturday afternoon
Pep Guardiola hailed the 23-year-old as a ‘mini Rodri’ after his display against Newcastle
City have sorely missed the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, who has been out since September after suffering an ACL injury
Another of City’s winter signings, Marmoush, shone against Eddie Howe’s men, with a first half hat-trick that helped the defending champions bounce back from their crushing Champions League play-off defeat by Real Madrid in midweek.
‘Marmoush presented a great level in Germany,’ said Guardiola post match. ‘He is a player with great quality and amazing speed. A player with this quality, in space, is unbelievable. This will give him a lot of confidence. The connection with Savinho and Erling (Haaland) was unbelievable.’
City’s win moved them up to fourth in the table, just three points behind Nottingham Forest, while Bournemouth and Chelsea trail them by just a point.
Guardiola’s side travel to Madrid in midweek, where they will try to overturn their first -leg deficit to the Spanish giants before welcoming league leaders Liverpool to the Etihad next Sunday.
