Stones left on bench and no City centre-halves on the pitch!

IN THE immediate aftermath of Aymeric Laporte’s cruciate injury, Rodri was asked how au fait he was with the centre-back position. ‘Not really,’ came the reply.

Not that it mattered. As Manchester City’s premier defender came to terms with months of knee rehabilitation ahead, the need for the £63million midfielder to move backward seemed somewhat far-fetched.

That has changed dramatically. Here was Rodri, alongside Fernandinho, in a back four costing towards £200m but unfathomably not boasting a central specialist. Both John Stones and Eric Garcia sat on the bench.

Pep Guardiola will have his reasons for this. Stones, he argued, is still not fully fit and appears likely to play against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday instead. Nicolas Otamendi suffered a kick to the back while on international duty with Argentina. Garcia is a real prospect but inexperienced, with only one Premier League substitute appearance to his name.

Equally, City were always going to enjoy plenty of uncontested possession near their own goal. So while the selection felt bizarre at the time — one of Guardiola’s “have you seen this?” line-ups — it was perhaps unsurprising in the grand scheme. Stones has also struggled for form when fit, and Crystal Palace’s rigid five across midfield meant the prospect of sustained scrutiny was minimal.

The Rodri-Fernandinho axis feels like Guardiola’s hundredth defensive double-act already this season and Palace simply did not pressurise City’s untried pairing enough. Rodri, who made a super block from Patrick van Aanholt’s goalbound effort, intercepted the ball intelligently in the main and the 23-year-old’s reading of the game actually coincided with his most unfortunate moment.

Benjamin Mendy had gallivanted into midfield and lost possession. Rodri, aware of a Palace counter developing, protected the yawning gap opened by Mendy’s absence, but his eagerness to cover the left back saw him slip. Fortunately Raheem Sterling raced back to thwart Wilfried Zaha.

Going direct more often might have been profitable for Palace. Strangely, Christian Benteke remained on the bench until minute 76. Seconds later, he forced Ederson into a stunning save when climbing above Rodri at a corner. On came Stones shortly after and Rodri went into midfield.

Funny, that.