Pep Guardiola lists five alternatives to Rodri in his Manchester City team this season | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was keen to point out the numerous alternatives he has to Rodri in his starting line-ups this season.

The Premier League champions were forced to once again come from behind at home to claim points, this time at the hands of challengers Fulham, who took the lead through Andreas Pereira in the first-half on Saturday.

A Mateo Kovacic brace either side of the half-time interval would move City into control of the contest, before a late Jeremy Doku screamer from distance would ensure that Rodrigo Muniz’s response would only prove to be a consolation for the visitors.

It is the latest contest that has seen Pep Guardiola largely experiment in the centre of the pitch as the club continues to come to terms with the long-term absence of defensive midfield mainstay Rodri.

Speaking to the media after Manchester City’s latest victory in Premier League action, Guardiola was once again quizzed on the options he has at his disposal to deal with the absence of Rodri in his first-team set-up.

“We have him (Mateo Kovacic), we have (Ilkay) Gundo, we can play Manu (Akanji) and John (Stones) in that position, we can play Rico (Lewis),” Guardiola pointed out.

“We have to find alternatives for the players, but of course the presence of Rodri is important in these types of games, the transitions. But I think we played really good.”

One player who did stand out and made a substantial impact on the game against Fulham with a sensational solo goal was Jeremy Doku, who is continuing to improve game-by-game so far this season.

“It was really good! Really, really good,” Guardiola said of the Belgian’s goal. “Always we talk about his ability to dribble, and we work or we talk about the final pass, the last action.”

Guardiola continued, “And I was completely diagonal to him in my position, and the ball made an incredible effect. I’m so happy because in the last game against Bratislava he played really well, and today as well.”

Jeremy Doku now finds himself as Manchester City’s third-highest goal contributor this season, providing two goals and an assist when selected for action by Pep Guardiola, with his services now required on international duty with Belgium.