Manchester City have suffered a dip in form recently, and according to star midfielder Rodri, this has drastically affected the mood inside the dressing room.
The Cityzens were recently in action, kicking off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the semifinal round on Tuesday, beating Urawa Reds 3-0 to make the final. Guardiola's men now need to simply overcome Fluminense at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to be crowned champions of the world.
However, things have not been going well for Haaland and Co. domestically. The English giants arrived in the Middle East having drawn 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace, conceding the equalizer in stoppage time.
This means Manchester City have won only one of their last six games in the Premier League, with that sole victory being a slim 2-1 triumph away to newly-promoted side Luton Town. While the Cityzens lost only one game during this run, going 1-0 down away to high-flying Aston Villa, Pep's crew were held by Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, and — most recently — Crystal Palace.
As a result, they find themselves five points behind league leaders Arsenal, sparking concern among the fan base. Rodri opened up about this topic and revealed that the mood in the dressing room has been quite somber.
However, the Spaniard highlighted the importance of arriving in Saudi Arabia, returning to winning ways, and uplifting the fans by possibly winning the FIFA Club World Cup.
"[The last few games] left a very bad feeling in the changing room for us so I think it was good for us to stop a little bit and then come here to the [Club] World Cup," Rodri said, as per Goal.
"When you're in that moment you're in this mixture of feeling that you have failed and dropping points: sometimes you deserve that, sometimes you don't. It's a time when you can't speak much, you have to be quiet, work as hard as you can and results will come out."
Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield at the start of the season has denied Pep's side the opportunity to complete the sextuple. However, Rodri stressed the importance of winning the FIFA Club World Cup and lifting five major silverware in a single calendar year nonetheless.
"We have a massive opportunity to win an incredible trophy. We're in the final. It was tough. Let's do our best to win it. We have to give our best to try to win everything because it will be history. It would be an amazing run if we end with five titles," the 27-year-old added.
The Cityzens won the Premier League, FA Cup, and, most importantly, the UEFA Champions League last season. The Manchester heavyweights then beat Sevilla on penalties to secure the UEFA Super Cup crown and will now be focused on overcoming Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup final.
Domestically, the Premier League holders sit five points behind Arsenal and this gap could widen before they resume their title defense. While Man City overcame a larger deficit to win the title last season, the Premier League outfit could find themselves outside the top four come Christmas should Tottenham win this weekend.
