Talking to Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte and Rodri

MANILA, Philippines – Three points ahead. Three matches to be played.

In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Manchester City players Aymeric Laporte and Rodri spoke of this season’s mindset to win another Premier League title and what is to come for next season.

“The win (against Newcastle) was important for the points and the emotional side of the team,” said Rodri, who referred to their 5-4 ouster last week in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid. “We focus on the next game which will be demanding for us but we need to show the best performance to win again.”

Manchester City is atop the league with a 27-win, five-draw and three-loss slate that is good for 86 points with closest pursuer Liverpool, which is only three points behind with a 25-8-2 slate.

After slaughtering Newcastle last weekend, 5-0, at their home field of the Etihad Stadium, the Citizens pay a visit to Wolverhampton on Thursday, May 12, at the latter’s Molineaux Stadium. 

When the two sides met in the first round last December 11 at the Etihad, City came away 1-nil winners with Raheem Sterling’s 66th minute penalty the marginal goal. 

Should Manchester City maintain their three-point lead over Liverpool in their final three assignments, they will bag their third Premier League title under Pep Guardiola and their fifth in the last 10 years. They also won titles under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. 

Both Laporte and Rodri have become world class players since their arrival one year after another — and both from the Spanish La Liga — one year apart.

Laporte was born in France but is of Spanish descent; hence playing for the Spanish national team. He played for Athletic Bilbao from 2012-18 where he scored a total of seven goals. After moving to Manchester City for the 2018-19 season, he has scored eight goals.

The natural Spaniard, Rodri, on the other hand, played for Villareal and Atletico Madrid from 2015-19 where he scored a total of four goals. With Manchester City, he has found the back of the net 11 times.

“I think it is part of your improvement to score more goals,” explained Rodri, who played as a defensive midfielder. “It is important since we don’t have a striker (since Sergio Aguero retired) that scores so we need to all help.”

Laporte, who is a defender, attributes this to the seemingly endless delivery of crosses inside the box. “This is easier for us when we arrive in the box to score goals.”

While the sole remaining trophy that Manchester City can win is the Premier League, the two teammates would like to use the shortcomings of this season as a springboard for the next campaign.

“If we can compete for all the trophies, we will,” promised Laporte. “And we hope that our Filipino fans will watch and support us.”

“It is nice to know we have fans in the Philippines,” added “We hope you keep supporting us.”