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Character just isn’t a phrase typically related to Manchester Metropolis. So slick, so serene is the machine that Guardiola has crafted in his six years right here that it hardly ever has to dip into its reserves of braveness and mettle and resilience. A lot of the time, the unmatched approach and expertise at Guardiola’s disposal are greater than sufficient.
However with its season unraveling and solely quarter-hour to reserve it, that’s exactly what carried Metropolis by means of, simply because it had allowed Guardiola’s staff to avoid wasting some extent at West Ham final week: Its means to stay cool and picked up beneath probably the most intense stress. That isn’t a straightforward factor to seize in a statue, but when anybody is to attempt, the work ought to in all probability depict Rodri, scorer of the purpose that drew Metropolis degree.
When the ball arrived at his toes, just a few paces outdoors the penalty space, the Etihad was in tumult. Ilkay Gundogan had scored two minutes or so earlier, heading house a cross from Raheem Sterling, however nonetheless, the clock was ticking, and Metropolis wanted to attain — to make certain — not as soon as, however twice. Rodri, although, appeared blissfully unhurried.
Because the ball rolled to him, he formed as if to strike it as onerous as he presumably may; that, in spite of everything, could be the surest approach to beat Robin Olsen, the Villa goalkeeper. Within the blink of an eye fixed, although, he modified his thoughts. He had noticed a spot. He shifted his weight barely, and handed the ball — not softly, however with deliberate care — into the underside nook, past Olsen’s outstretched arm.
Three minutes later, Gundogan had scored once more — one other candidate for that statue, if anybody is available in the market — and the Etihad was rattling and shaking, and the membership, its gamers and its workers and its followers, felt that sensation once more, the one which it thought it may take pleasure in solely as soon as in a lifetime.
Within the house of 5 minutes, Metropolis had remodeled its despair into one thing uncooked and pressing and delirious. It was not fairly the identical as what Metropolis’s followers now refer to easily as “93:20,” however nor was it some pale imitation, some ersatz model. It was one thing near an equal, and that was greater than sufficient.
When, a couple of minutes later, the ultimate whistle blew, Guardiola’s eyes had welled with tears. Liverpool had received, too, but it surely didn’t matter. For all of the stress and the pressure, maybe it’s higher this manner. Maybe it’s simpler to parse simply how a lot one thing means when it has nearly been snatched away.
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