Real Madrid: 3 reasons why Rodrygo Goes should be the regular starter at RW

2. Rodrygo balances the attack on the flanks:

Gareth Bale’s poor run of form has affected Real Madrid the most. Bale’s relationship with Zinedine Zidane worsen following the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final when Zinedine Zidane opted against starting the Welshman and he fell in the manager’s pecking order. Not only this, Gareth Bale suffered regular injuries and without any other great right winger, Real Madrid hasn’t been able to be much creative from that side.

Vinicius Junior (from the Left Wing) has played some great football this season and has been key in many games for the club. According to Whoscored.com, Vinicius has made 14 goal contributions so far, consisting of 9 goals and 5 assists, and has fairly made a name for himself.

But football is a team sport. A game of 11 players each and each of the 11 players has a job to perform.

Every team needs to balance their team in such a way that they are always able to pose a threat to the opposition. If Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema are the only two players contributing to the attack, the team’s action plan will be very predictable.

So someone needs to step up from the right flank too. Marco Asensio had a great game against Granada, but is it because of how good he is? I don’t think so. Marco Asensio is a technically gifted player, but it wasn’t just him who helped Real Madrid win the game. There were mistakes from the Granada side too. In the first half, Granada had contained Vinicius Junior and kept him somewhat quiet. Thus, they had freed Asensio who took full advantage. In the second half, Asensio was almost invisible since he had caught Granada’s attention. And thus as you noticed, Vinicius had more opportunities.

So, it will be much easier for a balanced team to contain both Vinicius and Asensio together and that’s why I don’t think Asensio could be a great fit for the season.

Now, talking about Rodrygo Goes, he has scored a total of 2 goals in the 3 appearances in the UEFA Champions League and averaged 1.7 Key Passes per game which is quite the impact you want from a winger. If none of Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard, or Gareth Bale is able to make an impact in the way Rodrygo Goes can, I don’t think there should be a question about the Brazilian being the obvious choice.