'Unbalances the team' - Rodri frustrated by Man City setbacks vs Chelsea

Manchester City midfielder Rodri made his first start at the Etihad since September but was unable to see his team claim three points

A frustrated Rodri said Manchester City have to learn for the 'long' season ahead after throwing away two points against Chelsea. Any joy that the player had at making his first start in months after injury was tempered by the fact that the Blues lost further ground in the Premier League title race.

City had by far the better of the game, with Erling Haaland seeing a shot come back off the inside of the post before Tijjani Reijnders gave them a deserved lead. They were not good enough to build on their control of the game though and were punished in second-half injury time when Enzo Fernandez sneaked in an equaliser at the back post.

It leaves City six points behind Arsenal at the top of the league, bumping Aston Villa out of second on goal difference, and two games without a win after a frustrating night at Sunderland in midweek. They have also lost four players to injury in four days, with Guardiola saying that Josko Gvardiol's injury does not look good.

Those that are still fit enough to play will be put through a testing January where City have seven games remaining and potentially nine in the squad unavailable. Rodri said that the absences cannot excuse performances though and the team have to stick to the gameplan if they want to avoid further setbacks.

"It's frustrating of course but at the end it is what it is. We created enough chances to win the game three or four nil, but this is football. If you don't take your chances with nothing they just draw the game. So we have to learn from this. There is still a long way and we just need to focus on the next games," he told Sky Sports.

"First half was brilliant, enough to score three or four goals. In the second half we forgot a little bit how to play and they got control of the game, losing easy balls. Sometimes when you defend, defend, defend, they did not have much but they get a draw. There's still a long way to go.

"It unbalances the team every single time a player goes out [injured] but of course the team has to adjust. It is not an excuse, we have enough talented players to play but in the second half we lose face a bit. We move on, we have the next game against Brighton at home and we have to win. We know that this season is going to be long so we have to keep going and going."