The £50m midfielder’s impressive display on his Premier League debut, Saturday’s 4-0 win over top-four rivals Newcastle, brought the Rodri comparison from his beaming manager and impressed former City defender Micah Richards, who analysed Gonzalez for MOTD2.
“Gonzalez gave City the control they have been missing, with and without the ball,” said Richards.
“That made a massive difference to the whole team, and he was a positive influence on the players around him too.”
Next up is an even tougher test, but could the 23-year-old Spaniard have a similar effect against Real Madrid on Wednesday, and help City turn around a Champions League play-off tie where they trail 3-2 after the first leg?
“The balance of the team looks much, much better already with Gonzalez in it,” Richards added.
“City have got players who can score goals and hurt Real, but he brings some stability behind them, which they will need if they are to manage the game in Madrid.
“Do they have more chance of beating Real with him in the starting XI? Without a doubt.”
Gonzalez made his Premier League debut against Newcastle. He may have been described as being a ‘mini-Rodri’ but at 6ft 2in he is only one inch shorter than his new City team-mate
‘He doesn’t just see danger, he anticipates it’
One of the re-occurring themes of City’s calamitous campaign is how often they have been cut open on the counter-attack since Rodri was injured in September.
Guardiola has tried plenty of other players in the number six role, without replacing Rodri’s calm authority in the heart of midfield, which was a hallmark of his team and helped them win trophy after trophy.
Against Newcastle, it was different. City often stopped breakaways early, in the opposition half, with Gonzalez – a former Barcelona trainee who arrived at Etihad Stadium from Porto at the end of the January transfer window – seeing the threat early and expertly pouncing to snuff it out.
“I saw a couple of situations against Newcastle where, in previous games, City would have been in big trouble,” Richards explained.
“In the past, they were playing the ball forward to the edge of the opposition box, losing it, then someone in midfield would get turned and suddenly the defence was having to drop back rapidly from the halfway line because the opposition were running through unchallenged.
“That did not happen on Gonzalez’s watch because he did not just stop counter-attacks when they happened, he anticipated the danger so they never happened in the first place.
“In one of the clips I picked out for MOTD2, he starts sprinting forward to pick up the second ball before the Newcastle defender on the edge of their area has even headed clear.
“Gonzalez is not just sitting deep, waiting, instead he gets up the pitch and into the right position to stop a group of Newcastle players getting on the ball and springing a break.
“That was not the only time he made a difference defensively.
“There was another clip I chose from the Newcastle game which was a mirror image of how City conceded their second goal against Juventus in their Champions League defeat in Turin in December.
“A City attack had just broken down and Ilkay Gundogan, who was playing as the deepest midfielder, got pulled across to the right, leaving a big hole in the middle for Juve to drive through, with only the defence to deal with it.
“This time, however, Gonzalez leaves the runner to his left and he is not worried about him. Instead he reads the play and – bam! – he goes straight in for the challenge in the centre of the pitch to stop the counter.
“It’s perfect midfield play, because he does not jump too early either. His timing is excellent, and he gets the ball back, with energy and purpose.”
