This season too, Real Madrid has suffered a lot of injuries, just like the last season and one of the most crucial ones was of Gareth Bale. The Welsh Dragon had returned to the Spanish capital in July after a somewhat satisfactory loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur.
Gareth Bale was having a great time on his return, but he, unfortunately, suffered a knee injury in September which has sidelined him for almost two months. And now, he has suffered another injury that has sidelined him for another month. So, Real Madrid is left with only Lucas Vazquez as a right-footed right winger who occasionally has to cover for Dani Carvajal at the right back position. So, who will take the responsibility? Rodrygo Goes is his name.
Rodrygo Goes made his LaLiga debut against Osasuna on 25th September 2019 where he scored the fastest LaLiga debut goal for Real Madrid. The Brazilian came on as a substitute and scored a goal within 93 seconds. He showed some amazing sparks under Zinedine Zidane but was able to make an impact mostly as a substitute.
As he played more and more games, he started to learn new things and I am sure he will be able to implement his tricks under Carlo Ancelotti. Rodrygo Goes has become better with time.
1. Rodrygo helps the fullbacks in defense:
Following Gareth Bale’s injury, Carlo Ancelotti has given chances to some players at the Right Wing- Eden Hazard (free-role), Marco Asensio, and Lucas Vazquez specifically. Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio have had some great games from the position, but what they offer in attack is not enough.
Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics require the full-backs to contribute a lot in attack and thus, they can often be exposed on the counter-attacks. So, the wingers need to drop back and defend so that the full-backs aren’t fully exposed. Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard aren’t capable of doing that for they aren’t energized enough to attack and drop back on the defense in just a few seconds.
Not only this, Gareth Bale has always been an injury-prone player and may not be able to exert or rush enough to help the full-backs. Moreover, Rodrygo’s contributions in defense aren’t bad at all, at least not for a 20-year-old winger. As per Whoscored.com, Rodrygo Goes averages 0.3 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per game. Since Real Madrid’s problems continue at the Right Back position, Carlo Ancelotti must trust Rodrygo Goes over any other player at the Right Wing position.
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.
3. Lightning Pace and Skills:
In Modern times where fast counter-attacking football is played, every player, especially the wingers and full-backs must be quick and possess a set of skills and tricks which they can use to their benefit to beat the opponent. When you play for one of the biggest and the most successful clubs in the world, these are the two qualities that everyone must possess and not just a winger or a full-back.
There was a time in Real Madrid’s history when the flanks would contribute the most in the attack. Of course, I am talking about the Bale Benzema Cristiano (BBC) era. Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and Gareth Bale’s declined form and injuries, Real Madrid did try and play some players like Marco Asensio or Lucas Vazquez at the Right Wing position, but they would either not offer enough speed, or won’t be able to execute their skills to help the club.
Gareth Bale’s injury problems continue and have restricted him from running errands at the lightning speed he once would. But now Real Madrid has found their man in Rodrygo Goes. The Brazilian is electric with the ball and we have witnessed his class quite a few times now.
He knows how to beat and move past his man and has been great under Carlo Ancelotti. The guy is made for UEFA Champions League and has shown some similar sparks in LaLiga, too. Even in this game against Granada, Rodrygo came on as a substitute for Vinicius Junior and played on the Left Wing. He was a constant threat for the opposition and his little trickeries frustrated the defenders. If you would have noticed, he controlled Carvajal’s cross brilliantly and used a backheel to beat Quini, who in turn tackled him. His little cameo in the game was good enough to convince Ancelotti to use him as a starter in the games ahead.