First signs of post-Rodri struggles? Mateo Kovacic in mixed display as Newcastle earn Man City draw | OneFootball

Mateo Kovacic had a mixed afternoon in his first game as deputy for Rodri as Manchester City drew 1-1 with Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.

The defending Premier League champions were rocked in midweek by the news that Rodri would be out for the season. The midfielder suffered a knee ligament injury in Man City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend.

Rico Lewis replaced Rodri in the starting XI but it was Kovacic who took up the Spaniard’s role. It’s a role Kovacic has already filled this season when Rodri missed the start of the campaign.

This weekend, Man City needed assurance that Kovacic could fill the role long-term. But they didn’t really get a definitive answer.

On paper, Kovacic lined up alongside Lewis as one of two holding midfielders. But as we all know, Man City never play in their set formation. Against Newcastle, Lewis was pushing a lot further forward alongside Ilkay Gundogan to help press. Manuel Akanji was Kovacic’s midfield partner, helping to protect the defence.

In the first half, particularly after Man City took the lead, Kovacic looked comfortable. The Croatian is not as confident a passer as Rodri, much happier trying to dribble his way through opposition midfields. But he still helped Man City recycle and retain possession as they probed the Newcastle defence.

Overall, Kovacic had more touches than any other Man City player (94) and completed the joint-most passes (74). His passing accuracy of 91.4% was among the best on his team.

He also made four tackles, won possession five times and completed one take-on alongside six total duels won.

But on the hour mark, after Anthony Gordon had equalised for Newcastle, Kovacic put in a rash tackle that showed the main weakness in his game: his stamina.

With 60 minutes gone, there was a lot more tiredness in Kovacic’s movements. His passing lacked the fizz it did in the first half, his attempts to stop Newcastle were tired, and he was slow on the ball.

One of Newcastle’s best opportunities to take the lead came as Kovacic was robbed in the middle of the Man City half by Sandro Tonali. And Newcastle very quickly sussed out that Kovacic was their best route to goal.

Kovacic was caught short a few times, receiving the ball facing his own goal. While Rodri would almost always know what’s behind him, Kovacic was unaware. Man City were just lucky Newcastle didn’t have a recognised striker on the pitch to capitalise.

There were also relatively poor games for Lewis and Gundogan, neither of whom finished the match. As mentioned, the pair were playing further forward in the Man City midfield.

Lewis had just 33 touches of the ball, fewer than any outfield starter not named Erling Haaland. Gundogan was the next fewest with 40 touches and while the German did create two chances, he left Man City a little light.

The draw means Man City have now won just one of their past four games across all competitions. That sole victory came against Watford in the EFL Cup in midweek, alongside three draws.

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