WITH OR WITHOUT

Kev return is key to our title pursuit says Rodri

- SIMON BIRD

RODRI has sent a title warning to Liverpool, claiming the return of Kevin De Bruyne is a turning point.

Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder reckons, “With Kevin, everything is easy!”

Belgian ace De Bruyne helped City to a comeback win over Newcastle with a goal and a stunning assist for Oscar Bobb’s stoppage-time decider.

Rodri (inset) was one of the City ‘captains’ to call a dressing room meeting to urge Pep Guardiola’s squad to keep the faith in the way they were playing, despite a lack of ruthlessness costing them wins in key matches this season.

The return of De Bruyne, although nowhere near fully fit after his hamstring operation in August, is crucial as they chase down Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Rodri said: “When you miss this kind of player, who makes the difference, you never know. There’s games where we were the better team in my opinion, but we didn’t have this extra talent to score.