I'm not Messi — Rodri concedes, slams teammates for playing like children after Brighton defeat

Manchester midfielder Rodri had a candid assessment of his team’s performance after they suffered their second successive defeat.

The Cityzens, reeling from last week’s defeat to Tottenham, hoped to return to winning ways away at the Amex Stadium. 

They went about that plan well, getting the opener through Erling Haaland. However, all went awry when James Milner restored parity, and 21-year-old German midfielder Brajan Gruda scored the winner and secured maximum points for Brighton.

The Cityzens also suffered greatly, putting up a shoddy title defence, with Rodri missing most of the season due to an ACL injury. With his return this season, Pep Guardiola’s side were expected to have an upturn in their form.

With no major changes to their luck, evident in the defeat to Brighton, Rodri conceded that his return was not sufficient enough difference maker, and that they needed to improve in other aspects.

"I'm not [Lionel] Messi. I'm not going to come back and just make the team win and win and win," Rodri told Sky Sports, per the BBC.

"This is a collective. When we won in the past I needed all my teammates. For sure I need to recover my best level and we have to look to all of ourselves, it is a collective sport. Hopefully , after the break we can be much better."

Manchester City made schoolboy errors against Brighton, which cost them, and Rodri ensured to call out his teammates.

"Some of the mistakes we are doing are kids' mistakes; you are not concentrating and paying attention," he added. "The reality is that we have to raise the level if we want to compete. We are not at the level for a long, long time."