Last week, Pep Guardiola said Manchester City cannot play well without Nathan Ake, and then he called Erling Haaland undroppable after his fourth hat-trick in 19 Premier League appearances.
He's also said Riyad Mahrez is back to his best, and the Algerian has started seven of City's nine post-World Cup games. In that time, the Blues have scored 20 goals as they have tried to discover the recipe for putting a winning run together. Mahrez has scored 10 and assisted four in his last 15 appearances, with six goals and three assists coming since the restart, justifying those starts on the right.
Of those Mahrez involvements, he must credit Rodri with vital work in the build-up, and it is the Spaniard who has cemented his position as another undroppable this season. Now, he is starting to play an increasing role in City's attacks, and many of the Blues' most-important goals in recent games have come through him.
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If Rodri's attacking abilities are ever considered, it would be his long-range thunderbolts that catch the eye, or the composed finish in the final day win over Aston Villa last season to help win the title.
This season, he's perfected another, more underrated attacking weapon to his play, as City have become more and more reliant on his intelligent switches of play.
City often rely on a midfielder or winger to turn, open up, and find a man in space on the opposite flank after drawing defenders in on the other. That switch is something Jack Grealish has been credited with helping, and creating the overload is hardly a new City tactic.
It does feel, though, in recent games, that Rodri has become far more effective at triggering those attacks - whether it is a pinpoint floated ball across to Riyad Mahrez that has resulted in a quarter of City's post-World Cup goals, or a forward ball from midfield that has prompted others to race forward after some more considered possession play.
City's first goal against Wolves this weekend summed up Rodri's growing influence in the City attack. With space limited on the left, Rodri turned on the ball, chipped it out to Mahrez in space on the right. Mahrez stood up his defender, laid it back to Kevin De Bruyne in space, and Erling Haaland was never going to miss his header.
In the previous game, Rodri was admittedly culpable for Spurs' two first half goals, but would play a key role in City's equaliser and third goal to take the lead. His chip through to Mahrez from a deeper position was perfect for the winger to head across to Haaland for his goal. And later he spread play again from one side to the other, allowing Mahrez to advance and score into the far corner.
Mahrez received another identical ball from Rodri in the Manchester derby, before De Bruyne spotted the trigger to provide a run and cross for Jack Grealish to score, while City scored from a similar move against Chelsea where Rodri fed Mahrez in space with a ball out wide, Kyle Walker made the inside run, and Phil Foden converted the cross.
In City's first game back after Qatar against Liverpool, Rodri and Mahrez combined again as the Algerian controlled a wonderful ball forward to score a fine effort, while Rodri provided the run into space at Leeds a few days later to find Mahrez once more, before following up to score the rebound.
Rodri's decisive actions are not limited to the now-familiar switch of play. His reading of the game means that when a pass is played forward, or a tackle is won in midfield, then his teammates know that is a trigger to add numbers to the attack.
City's third against Leeds and their first in the cup against Chelsea saw Rodri win the ball in midfield, play a simple ball forward to encourage Kevin De Bruyne to run into space, and the Blues went on to score from both attacks - the Chelsea move resulting in a free kick that Mahrez won and converted in style.
Of City's 20 goals since coming back from the World Cup, Rodri can claim decisive roles in nine, of which seven were to go ahead in a game or draw level. Six have seen City score after Rodri found Mahrez in space, and of Rodri's five assists this season, three have been from almost identical passes to Mahrez.
It's not a new phenomenon to see City's defensive midfielder used in this way, although the frequency of Rodri's switches and attacking triggers feels more influential. Add that to Mahrez's fine form, and Guardiola has a new attacking partnership that few would have foreseen at the start of the season.
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