Jamie Redknapp

Rodri playing towards the back was a little bit odd.

Because the front three, certainly, you'd think were probably the best they could put out there.

It was a slightly odd one.

He approached it in a slightly bizarre way, but I suppose needs must this time of the season.

Everyone's got to rotate.

All the players need minutes.

He's trying to get players back into form.

And actually, they're in a final one.

We can't ignore that.

Even though it was a home defeat, which was disappointing for me and the supporters, the point is that'll all be forgotten when they walk out of Wembley.

Yeah, it is a really good boost.

I sat down with Pep a few days ago ahead of that League Cup semi-final and we spoke quite extensively about Fernandinho and his impact.

He told me that he continues to surprise him every day.

He knows he's coming towards the end of his career, but he's been so important to where they have got to this season.

Admittedly, as we've spoke about many times, the title looks now to be well gone.

But they have still performed, and Fernandinho, the fact that he's been out of slots in at centre-half, replacing Armoury Laporte, I mean, if he hadn't have been able to do that, you just wonder where in earth City would be.

Pep doesn't like the Stones-Ottomendi combination at the back.

Fernandinho's a really calming presence.

He's grown into the role.

Certainly when he played a few games there deputising a centre-half early on, you thought, hang on, this is just not going to work.