Rodrygo Madrid’s low-key weapon at the Etihad

REAL MADRID visit Manchester City tomorrow bidding to reach the Champions League semifinals and forward Rodrygo Goes may hold their key to success.

Rodrygo struck twice in a late blitz against Manchester City in 2022 to help Madrid knock the English side out and was on target again in the 3-3 quarterfinal first leg draw last week.

While his Brazilian compatriot and strike partner Vinicius Junior and England international Jude Bellingham draw most of the attention, Rodrygo flies by under the radar.

Rodrygo’s goals tend to come in fits and starts and with three in his last two games, the forward may have hit a new purple patch at a crucial moment.

In the first leg Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti deployed Rodrygo on the left of the attack, a position where he has been used sparingly, more often on the opposite flank.

The forward netted after 14 minutes to put his team 2-1 up, escaping into space down his wing, his shot deflecting off Manuel Akanji and past Stefan Ortega.

Content to play wherever and whenever the coach deems necessary, Rodrygo is a versatile weapon for Ancelotti.

“They didn’t expect me to be on the left, we did it differently today and it went well,” Rodrygo said after the thriller at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“We have to win there, it’s all open – whoever makes the fewest errors will go through.”

Rodrygo has superb poise on the ball and dances slickly and effortlessly around defenders, with his movement making him hard to track.

Madrid will be looking to hurt Manchester City on the counter-attack at the Etihad Stadium and he is one of their best tools in transition situations.

Ancelotti has kept faith in Rodrygo through dry spells at times this season.

After he failed to find the net in 11 appearances between August and October, he went on to score eight goals in the next eight games.

“If they say to you ‘Think about any animal apart from the cat’, you only think of the cat,” Ancelotti said in February.

“To Rodrygo, I will not speak to him about goals, I’ll never speak to him about goals.” – AFP