Real Madrid have several talented wide forwards, but here’s why Rodrygo Goes could distinguish himself as the starter.
Heading into the 2020-2021 season, Real Madrid fans have every reason to be optimistic that their team’s attack will be significantly better. Last season, Real were pulled forward by striker Karim Benzema’s 21 goals and eight assists in La Liga, as center back and team captain Sergio Ramos pulled up behind him with 11 goals.
Real Madrid didn’t get enough goal-scoring threat from their other forwards. Eden Hazard spent much of the season injured, and on the opposite side of the formation, Marco Asensio didn’t return until the summer. But when Asensio did return, he needed a mere 334 minutes to score three goals.
Next season, Hazard and Asensio are the favorites to start on either side of a three-pronged attack that centers the ever-consistent Benzema. But Rodrygo Goes, the young Brazilian wide forward, has every chance to usurp one of them.
In just his first season with the club, Rodrygo showed he has the ability to become one of the world’s best players. He scored his debut goal within seconds, nailed a perfect hat-trick against Galatasaray, and provided no shortage of work rate down the right-hand side. Rodrygo isn’t a natural right winger, but he played well there, completing nearly 88 percent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
Rodrygo is a bigger difference-maker on the left
The 19-year-old from Santos finished his first season in Spain’s top flight with 1,023 minutes played. That means Vinicius Junior, Isco, Gareth Bale, and Eden Hazard all played more frequently than the first-year Madridista. But Rodrygo still scored twice and was more productive than all of them in the Champions League with four goals and three assists. In Europe’s premier competition, Rodrygo had as many goal contributions as grizzled veteran Benzema.
And Rodrygo did all of this playing at his second-favored position in his first year making the leap from Santos to Real Madrid. If that doesn’t make you bullish on what he can do in Year 2, then you are seriously sleeping on a player who might have the most long-term upside of any of Real’s standout young players.
Rodrygo offered a glimpse of what he can do at the top level at his preferred position on the left in a win over Deportivo Alaves. The man completed six dribbles and was impossible to stop, creating chance after chance that his teammates frustratingly wasted. But that was his first game starting at the position, meaning the players around him weren’t fully adjusted to Rodrygo’s aggressive attacking play style in that role.
Hazard and Vinicius are two stalwarts at left wing and are among the best players at the position in Europe. But Rodrygo is lurking behind them as a potential starter, ready to seize his opportunity. His big match against Alaves, arguably his best performance of the season in La Liga, was a sign of the quality he can bring at the position.
Rodrygo will fight for starts at two positions for Real Madrid
Even on the right side, Rodrygo is good enough to challenge Asensio, though the left-footed Spanish international’s goal-scoring threat will likely carry the day.
Yer Rodrygo is in the mix on both sides and merely needs the chance to blow everyone away again on the left. Vini and Hazard are excellent players, but Rodrygo is so good that he can take matters into his own hands and force a shake-up in the team.
It will probably be some time before he can establish himself as a regular starter on the left, since Zinedine Zidane likes to ease his youngsters. But Rodrygo is already such an advanced player for his age that we shouldn’t be surprised if he forces the issue. He is the name to watch for Real Madrid in 2020-2021.