Pep Guardiola said Nico Gonzalez’s performance against Newcastle showed the Manchester City signing can be a ‘mini-Rodri’ for his new side.
City got back to winning ways in the Premier League in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 home win courtesy of a 15-minute hat-trick from Omar Marmoush.
James McAtee’s strike after the break added the icing on the cake for the hosts who moved inside the top four after Chelsea’s loss to Brighton on Friday night.
But while Marmoush’s goals may have caught the headlines, it was Gonzalez’s performance – making his Premier League debut – that caught the eye of Guardiola.
Signed from Porto for around £50million on deadline, Gonzalez made an instant impact in the heart of midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan.
And Guardiola believes that the 23-year-old could have finally provided him with a proper replacement for Rodri whose absence due to an ACL injury has hampered City’s ambitions this season.
‘I think the presence of Nico helped us a lot because of 10 balls, the 50-50s, he wins seven and you can run,’ Guardiola said post-match. ‘When you lose seven, they will run.
‘I have the feeling the club bought an incredible player for the future, in terms of mentality.
‘He’s so young, 23 remember, like a mini-Rodri. That’s a big compliment – but there’s this feeling for the big presence, the duels.
‘Of course, he’s miles away from Rodri. Rodri is the best.
‘But I had the feeling, everyone had the feeling, that he’s going to help us in the last part of the season.’
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Asked about Marmoush’s performance, Guardiola admitted that the Egyptian’s breakout display was only a natter of time after his impressive start to life in Manchester.
‘Three goals, we knew it – in Germany at Frankfurt he made good numbers,’ the City boss added.
‘Against Leyton Orient he had three clear chances and couldn’t score but we knew sooner or later.
‘The dynamic of the group was good and performance was good. He showed what he is. Hopefully he can handle the biggest compliments that are coming. It’s non-stop.
‘When we played against Chelsea, he played good and we won. He’s a player that we missed, his movements in behind and his pace.
‘He likes to attack the space and he helps to play with more time. When we play like we did today, everyone is better – even the manager!’
City face a short turnaround before their midweek Champions League clash with Real Madrid as they look to overturn a one-goal deficit at the Bernabeu.
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