Manchester City are entering a moment that feels heavy like a cloud that refuses to leave the sky, a moment where the normal calm confidence around the Etihad Stadium has turned into something different, something worrying, something that makes even the strongest fans sit quietly and think deeply about what is happening to their beloved team. This is not the Manchester City that usually walks with the chest out, the Manchester City that controls matches like a king controlling his palace and every corner of it. The mood has changed. The air feels tense. Even the smiles around the stadium feel forced, like people are trying to pretend everything is fine when in reality nothing feels fine at all. Pep Guardiola, the man who normally looks calm even when chaos is happening around him, is carrying a look that shows pressure, frustration and the weight of this moment. He knows what this period means. He knows that in the Premier League, nothing waits for you, not momentum, not confidence, and definitely not your rivals. Everything keeps moving and if you don’t move with it, you get left behind.
Right now, that fear of being left behind is starting to creep into the blue side of Manchester. Two defeats in a row in all competitions have created a vibration that can be felt everywhere. This is not normal. Manchester City are not used to falling twice without standing up immediately. They are not used to showing weakness. They are not used to allowing doubt to enter the dressing room. But doubt has found a way to knock on the door. And every player, every coach, and every fan can feel it. Today’s match against Leeds is not just a Premier League match. It is a match that carries the weight of the entire season. It is a match that can either lift the team or sink the team. It is the type of match where the smallest mistake can feel like a disaster. It is a must win, and everybody knows it.
Last weekend was supposed to be a moment of hope. A moment to cut the gap between Manchester City and Arsenal. A moment to remind everyone that the champions are still here, still ready, still hungry. But instead of hope, disappointment arrived. The trip to Newcastle, a match many people already expected to be difficult, turned into a moment that changed everything. Manchester City did not just lose the game; they lost control of the title race rhythm. They slipped to third place. Arsenal moved seven points clear. Seven points sounds small when you say it with your mouth, but when you are chasing a team that is in top form, seven points feels like climbing a mountain with no rope. City have climbed mountains before, but to do it again, the energy must be right. The focus must be sharp. The confidence must return quickly. Arsenal look like a team that is not ready to drop points. They are scoring goals, defending with passion, and playing with belief. Their fans believe. Their manager believes. Their players believe. And Pep knows that if City continue to drop points, they might chase and chase until they run out of breath.
As if the Premier League pain was not enough, the Champions League added another blow. A shock defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. A match that Guardiola used to rotate almost the entire team. He made ten changes, hoping the fresh legs would respond with energy, passion and hunger. But instead, the performance looked flat, confused and unconvincing. Manchester City fans are not used to watching their team lose back-to-back matches, whether it’s the Premier League, the Champions League or even a friendly game. Everything about the club in the last decade has been built on winning. Winning is the identity. Winning is the culture. Winning is the heartbeat. And that shock loss, even though the group was already secured, reminded everyone that something is not right right now. Something has to change. Something must be fixed immediately.
And just when the team needs stability, strength and leadership on the pitch, they are going into this important Leeds match without the most irreplaceable player in the squad. The heartbeat of Manchester City. The man who controls the midfield with calmness, intelligence, power and magic. Rodri. Whenever Rodri is missing, something goes wrong. The midfield loses shape. The defence feels exposed. The attack struggles to get the ball in the right spaces. Rodri is not just a midfielder. He is the engine, the brain and the shield. He is the player that makes everything look easy. Without him, everything becomes complicated. The fans know it. The staff knows it. Every opponent knows it. Manchester City without Rodri is like a phone without battery. You can hold it, you can carry it, but it will not work the same way. It loses life.
Rodri’s injury, a hamstring problem, is the type that needs careful treatment. Patience. No rushing. Hamstring injuries are dangerous. If you rush, you lose him for even longer. After he returned earlier in the month and played against Bournemouth, the hope was that he was finally ready. City fans celebrated that moment. They felt relief. They thought the team was about to return to full power. But instead of that, Rodri found himself back in the injury room. And now the fear is growing. Every week that passes without Rodri increases the concern. Because Manchester City are built to win with him as the foundation. Take him away and that foundation shakes.
Guardiola faced the media on Friday and the first question came immediately. The question everyone was waiting for. “Is Rodri available?” Fans already knew the answer before he even said it. And he confirmed it. Rodri will not play. He will miss the Leeds match. But what made the moment more uncomfortable was the answer to the second question. “How long until he returns?” Guardiola gave a short answer that brought more confusion than clarity. “Not far,” he said. But “not far” can mean anything. One week. Two weeks. A month. Nobody knows. Fans have heard that before. And sometimes “not far” turns into a long wait.
Missing the Leeds match means missing the Fulham match too. It is almost impossible for Rodri to return in three days. Guardiola will not take that risk. So the fans are now hoping and praying that maybe, just maybe, the Sunderland match at the Etihad next week will bring Rodri back. That is the new target. That is the new dream. That is the moment fans are waiting for. But until then, today’s match cannot wait. The Premier League does not slow down for anyone.
This is the moment where Manchester City must show their identity. They must show that they are not dependent on one man. Even though everyone knows Rodri is special, the rest of the team must step up. They must fight like champions. They must play like a team that wants to win the Premier League again. Leeds will not come to Manchester to play gently. They will come with energy. They will come with confidence. They will come with hope. They will come with nothing to lose. And those types of teams are dangerous.
Guardiola will change the lineup again. The big names will return. But no matter what the lineup looks like, the absence of Rodri will be felt like a missing heartbeat. This is the moment where players like Mateo Kovacic must show experience. Bernardo Silva must show leadership. Kalvin Phillips, if he gets minutes, must show that he still deserves a chance. The defence must protect everything. The attackers must score without hesitation. No wasting chances. No playing with fear. No unnecessary touches. The team must be direct. They must be ruthless.
The fans inside the Etihad will sing their hearts out. But the truth is that they want more than singing today. They want passion. They want energy. They want hunger. They want Manchester City football. They want the team to send a message to Arsenal, to Liverpool, to everyone watching. A message that says: We are still here. We are still the champions. We are not going anywhere.
Football is strange. It can bring crisis and opportunity at the same time. And today is that type of moment. Without Rodri, without momentum, without comfort, Manchester City must dig deep. They must find themselves again. They must remember who they are and what they represent. The dressing room must find fire. Guardiola must inject belief. The players must take responsibility. Champions become champions in moments like this, not when everything is easy, but when things feel heavy.
Every fan walking into the Etihad today knows the stakes. They know what this match could mean in May when the title race reaches its final chapter. Today might be remembered as the turning point. The moment the team woke up. The moment confidence returned. The moment everything changed. Or it could be remembered as the moment things became worse. That is why the pressure is heavy.
And somewhere inside that dressing room, every player is thinking the same thing: They must win. They must bounce back. They must fight. They must deliver. Because Manchester City without Rodri might look wounded, but Manchester City with belief can still destroy any opponent.
The fans are imagining the day Rodri returns. The day he walks onto the pitch again. The day the midfield breathes again. The day everything feels normal again. And they hope that when Rodri returns, the team will already be back on track, winning, fighting, believing. But for now, there is only one message. One mission. One deman
