A year ago
In contrast to Pep Guardiola, Rodri believes Manchester City have the best opportunity to exact "revenge" on Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals.
Los Blancos are the team preventing City from reaching the championship game for the second consecutive season.
The encounters from the previous season featured two riveting games of elite football. At the Etihad Stadium, City outplayed Real Madrid, but the 4-3 thriller ended with City winning by just one goal.
Back at the Bernabeu, Guardiola's team had a 1-0 lead on the night and a 5-3 advantage overall coming into stoppage time, but Rodrygo scored twice in sudden death to draw the game and force extra time.
Then, Real Madrid defeated Liverpool to win their 14th European Cup after Karim Benzema's pivotal goal from the penalty spot sent them through.
Guardiola was adamant to emphasize during the pre-game press conference that this year's match should not be about "revenge."
"It would be a grave error. Before the first leg in Spain, he declared, "We are not here to exact retribution.
"Whatever occurred, occurred. In football, it always occurs because you deserve it.
"We gave it our all to make it to the final, but sometimes that's not enough. The lesson is to perform well, obtain a solid result, and have a chance to go to the final in the second leg in Manchester.
We had a fantastic first game in Manchester and a really excellent game here last year, despite the difficulty. However, it was insufficient; you congratulated your opponent, accepted it, and now, a year later, we are again in this situation.
It's just another chance. We'll reach the championship game and win it one day. Since Madrid is aware of what they must do to win this match, it didn't happen the previous season.
Rodri, however, disagreed with Guardiola and insisted that Man City should seize this chance to exorcise their demons.
"There will be an opportunity for retaliation. We adhere to the notion that you can draw lessons from the past. Last year, we attempted 180 minutes of greatness, but it was insufficient. We didn't handle it properly in the last minutes of the second leg, the midfielder claimed.
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