Man City's Rodri says grueling schedule taking its toll: I need a rest

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MADRID (AP) — Manchester City's relentless schedule in pursuit of a second straight treble of major trophies is taking its toll on the team's most important player.

Rodri, the Spain midfielder who has not lost any of his last 66 games for club and country in a run stretching back more than a year, said after City’s 3-3 draw at Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday that he needs a break.

“Every one of us can do better, even myself, but we need to rest to be honest,” Rodri told reporters after the first-leg match in the Santiago Bernabeu. “I do. I do need a rest.”

That rest could come at home to Luton in the Premier League on Saturday, which City will enter in third place and trailing Arsenal and Liverpool by one point. The second leg against Madrid is four days later, with City set to be playing two games a week for the rest of the season.

City has lost three games in the league this season — against Wolverhampton, Arsenal and Aston Villa — and all of them came while Rodri was suspended. City’s loss at Newcastle in the third round of the English League also came when Rodri was banned.

However, Rodri was given a rest for City’s last game against Luton, in the FA Cup in February, and the team won 6-2 at Kenilworth Road.

“Let’s see ... how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is,” Rodri said. “It (a rest) is something we are planning, yes.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer