Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admits his side must find a way of winning matches when key midfielder Rodri is unavailable.
The treble winners slipped to fourth place in the Premier League after their 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
The loss at Villa Park followed a run of three successive draws meaning Guardiola and his side have gone four games without a league win for the first time since April 2017.
For a side used to setting benchmarks for excellence, they are currently facing a few stats they'd rather forget.
Their 17 goals conceded in the first 15 games of the season is their most since 2009-10 when they finished fifth.
Meanwhile, the two shots they mustered against Villa is the fewest ever for a Guardiola-coached side, a run that stretches back 535 games in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League. The 22 Villa shots that rained down on their goal is the joint-most in that same period.
But perhaps the most telling stat is that they have lost all four games this season when midfield linchpin Rodri has been absent – he was suspended on Wednesday having already collected five Premier League bookings – as opposed to being unbeaten in the 43 previous games where the Spanish international has featured.
“Rodri is an important player of course but when he is not there we have to find a way to win without him,” conceded Guardiola, who has this season tended to use either John Stones or Manuel Akanji to plug the gap.
“Six points [behind leaders Arsenal] and we would prefer to be top of the league but we made three draws and lost today,” he added.
“In these years we have found a way to win games but we struggled a bit and we have to find a way.
“It is my job to find a solution. The dynamic changes by winning games. When a team is better you have to recognise it.”
Aston Villa were indeed the better side, with Unai Emery's upwardly-mobile team leapfrogging City into third place thanks to Leon Bailey's 74th-minute deflected shot.
“Aston Villa played better,” continued Guardiola. “The first half we didn't move in possession and the second half was much better and we had chances, but we struggled to find the pass and movements in the right moments.
“We have scored four or five goals with deflections so it is what it is and we have to accept Aston Villa was better and go to Luton on Sunday.”
The good news for Guardiola is that Rodri will be available at Kenilworth Road.
Emery, meanwhile, did his best to play down Villa's rapid progress, with this latest win seeing them move firmly into the picture for Champions League qualification. The Spaniard even had to fend off questions about a potential title challenge.
“We are not contenders. There are seven teams who are contenders more than us,” Emery said.
“Now we are on game 15. We are going to play game 16 on Saturday against Arsenal and we are going to focus on it.
“We are happy to be third but to keep it is going to be very difficult.
“While we are there we are going to try to keep it. If we keep progressing during the season, playing matches and winning like we are doing maybe we can be a contender but I think we need more time,” he said.
“We can believe but we are not contenders. Maybe by game 30 or 32, but not yet.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
