With just over 15 minutes left, Real Madrid’s 1-0 lead over Celta Vigo was looking slender and Carlo Ancelotti decided to act: Rodrygo was coming off.
The Brazilian wasted no time once he saw Joselu ready to take his place, running off without any sign of frustration. On his way to the bench though, he couldn’t help but lower his head just a little while while meeting the applause from the Santiago Bernabeu stands.
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After drawing three of their past four matches in all competitions, Madrid returned to winning ways with a 4-0 La Liga victory on Sunday evening, but once again Rodrygo went without a goal.
He was very much involved and at times acted as the team’s main presence in attack when Vinicius Junior (who scored the opener) drifted further over to the left, but a lack of confidence seemed to hurt his decision-making in the area and he might have done better with chances in each half, both of which were denied by Celta goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
“He lacks a bit of finishing ability,” Ancelotti said of Rodrygo in his post-match press conference, after two Celta own goals and a late Arda Guler strike completed the scoring. “He was very important in the first half. He only lacked the goal in this game, but for the rest… (his) work, (his) pressing, he has done well.”
It has become commonplace for Madrid’s manager to be asked about Rodrygo, who has not scored in six games now and has just one goal in his past 11 La Liga matches. At the start of the season, he also went through a dry spell, going 11 games without finding the net.
He is still Madrid’s third-most important player in terms of goal contributions so far this season, with 13 goals and eight assists, behind only Vinicius Jr (16 goals and eight assists) and Jude Bellingham (20 goals and nine assists).
However, the statistics of Joselu and Brahim Diaz, his two main rivals for a starting berth, look more impressive when viewed through a different lens. While Rodrygo has averaged a goal every 219 minutes and a goal action (goal or assist) every 135 minutes, Brahim has managed a goal every 182 minutes and a goal action every 121 minutes. Joselu has scored a goal every 123 minutes and made a goal action every 94 minutes.
If we look at goals per shot, Rodrygo is the Madrid attacking player with the worst record in La Liga: he has needed on average 9.25 shots to score, which leaves him behind Joselu (6.37), Brahim (6.25), Vinicius Jr (5.4) and Bellingham (3.25).
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Rodrygo’s entourage points out that he is not playing in his natural position on the left wing and that he has had to adapt to the right flank for the benefit of the team, which has been detrimental to his goalscoring. They also maintain that, regardless of what his numbers might say, he always appears on the important nights.
It is true that Rodrygo’s returns have been slightly stronger in the Champions League than in La Liga. There, he has scored 18 goals in 47 appearances (a goal every 143 minutes), compared to 24 goals in 136 games (a goal every 327 minutes) in Spain’s top flight.
Rodrygo earned a special place in the hearts of Madrid fans for his decisive goals in the remarkable Champions League knockout victories over Chelsea and Manchester City in the 2021-22 season. The footage is often played in the communal areas of Madrid’s training complex at Valdebebas, where the club’s offices are also based.
With those nights in mind, Madrid decided to renew his contract until 2028, with the deal officially announced last November. Several of the photographs distributed featured only the player’s parents, sister and three key figures at the club along with Rodrygo: president Florentino Perez, general manager Jose Angel Sanchez and chief scout Juni Calafat, his biggest early endorser. There were no agents involved in the negotiation, something that reflects the good connection between him and the board.
Rodrygo has long been highly valued by the club’s top brass and the coaching staff see things no differently. Although there have been a few bumps in the road (such as his reaction to being substituted at Villarreal last season), Ancelotti has this season always considered him ahead of Brahim, his main competitor for a starting spot.
But with excitement building over the expected summer arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Madrid fans have already begun to debate whether Rodrygo would have a place next season. For the moment, the club have not wanted to fuel this because they continue to see him as one of the youngsters leading the new generation and because they are not thinking of selling any of their attackers.
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“I would love Mbappe to come. I always want to play with the best players and he is one of the best in the world,” Rodrygo said after February’s 4-0 home win over Girona.
That outlook only underlines his own determination to succeed at a club where he is more than happy.
Those who know him say that his only goal is to become a Madrid legend and that, given how “cool” next season’s potential line-up is looking (with Alphonso Davies also linked), he doesn’t want to miss out for anything in the world.
(Top photo: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)