Rodri on his fitness, ‘unbelievable’ Silva and Stones, and the Premier League title race | OneFootball

Rodri admitted he was still not feeling 100% in the FA Cup final but wanted to push himself to help his side win silverware.

The Manchester City midfielder helped his team to lift the FA Cup at Wembley with a 1-0 win over Chelsea.

He had missed the previous four games with another injury setback, but returned to the team to play just over an hour in the final.

“It was a rollercoaster this month, trying to (work out) exactly the moment to come back,” he said.

“I tried two times and I didn’t feel good so I have to step back.

“But this one is a special game, I tried my best. Even though I wasn’t 100%, to be honest, I tried to be there with the team and do everything.”

Stay up to date with all the latest Manchester City news by joining our Man City WhatsApp channel. 

Long-serving City duo Bernardo Silva and John Stones lifted the FA Cup together at Wembley in a poignant moment, with both leaving at the end of the season.

“Very tough because more than the fact they are unbelievable players, we are friends,” Rodri said on the duo. “We live lots of things together with our families, everything. For me that’s the saddest thing.

“But life is like this, you try to move on. It’s also positive to say goodbye in a good way. Thank you for everything.”

Asked how City have continued to keep winning trophies year after year, Rodri replied: “It’s a matter of never giving up, never losing the hunger. I think it’s remarkable that you arrive four times into a final. In the end you can win it or lose it because finals are like this but the consistency of this team, the consistency of this manager, these players, for me it’s the most remarkable thing, even if you win or lose.

“But we’re able to win more times than we lose so that’s also very remarkable.”

Focus now switches back to the Premier League title race, with Arsenal holding a two-point lead over City with two games remaining.

“A confidence boost but we don’t lose our confidence,” Rodri said. “We don’t lose our calm, we still have two games to play. They’re massive and they’re very tough.

“Everything can happen, it’s just we need them (Arsenal) to drop points. It can happen in the next one or in the last game. In their position, it’s not easy to finish the task and we have to be there pushing until the end.”

If you enjoy our articles, help us out by making Hayters.com one of your preferred sources on Google by clicking here.