Rodri believes Manchester City must make a good start and be more aggressive in order to defeat Bayern Munich.
City return to Champions League action on Tuesday as they welcome the Bundesliga champions to the Etihad for the first leg of what is bound to be a thrilling quarter-final tie. Pep Guardiola's side couldn't have warmed up for it any better, either, as they cruised to a 4-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring just before the break before Jack Grealish doubled the lead in the second half and ensured the three points. Grealish then turned provider for Haaland as the Norwegian sensational acrobatically volleyed home and Julian Alvarez rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot.
Also read: City player ratings vs Southampton in 4-1 win
However, it wasn't all smooth sailing as the struggling Saints took the game to City in the opening half an hour and caused them plenty of problems with their pace. Rodri says City can't start in the same way against Bayern if they are to advance to the semi-finals.
"Very happy. We came here [to Southampton] to win, and we won it," the Spaniard said on the game. "I think we struggled a little bit in the first half - the first 20 minutes weren’t very good. We struggled a little bit to find the spaces.
"The goal made us calm for the second half and gave us confidence and we played much better. It was important because we weren’t as strong and aggressive as we were in the second half.
"We were a bit slow and needed to move the ball quicker. Looking ahead to the Bayern game, we have to start better and be more aggressive. We’re on a great run and we want to keep it going.
"We look ahead with a lot of emotion and happiness to want to face them. A big, big rival in Europe and we will have to show the best of ourselves if we want to have a chance against them. We have to fix some things."
Rodri was at least pleased with the number of goals City managed to score on the south coast as goal difference could come into play at the end of the season. If City win all their remaining games and Arsenal win all of theirs apart from the blockbuster meeting between the two title contenders on April 26, then they will finish on the same number of points.
City's goal difference is currently five better than Arsenal and it will be important to extend that lead. "The goals are important because you never know at the end," Rodri added. "If we are drawing on points, the goals are important, so it was good to score four today."
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