In the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, the 21-year-old Rodrigo came on as a substitute to complete the double-shot savior, pulling the aggregate score from 3-5 to 5-5, and dragging the game into extra time; in the end, Benzema used a penalty to score a goal in extra time, and Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate to advance to the final.
Rodrigo equalised in extra time, Benzema was defeated in overtime, and Real Madrid reversed the promotion, which was a complete copy of the script of eliminating Chelsea at the Bernabeu in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
Facing Chelsea at home in the second leg of the quarter-finals, Rodrigo equalized 4-4 on aggregate in the 80th minute, while in the second leg of the semi-finals, facing Manchester City at home, Rodrigo came on as a substitute for 2 minutes and 2 goals + a 5-5 draw in stoppage time. Rodrigo, 21, has scored three goals in his last two Champions League home games, saving Real Madrid twice in desperate situations. Without him, Real Madrid might not even be in the top 4.
After Vinicius, Rodrigo also broke out, and the people who questioned Real Madrid's 90 million euros to scratch the lottery ticket are now madly punched in the face by Lafayette.
In 2018, Real Madrid brought in Vinicius, who was only 18 years old at the time, for 45 million euros, setting a new world transfer record for a player under the age of 18. A year later, Real Madrid signed another Brazilian genius, Rodrigo, for 45 million euros.
In fact, Vinicius, known as the "new Neymar", can be described as disastrous in his debut season at Real Madrid, and Rodrigo also did not have any bright performance, many fans complained that Real Madrid people were stupid and spent 90 million euros to scratch these 2 lottery tickets.
The 21-year-old Vinicius has suddenly had a big break this season, and has so far played a big double-double of 18 goals and 19 assists. His value on the German Transfer Market instantly soared to 100 million euros, the third most expensive player in the world, behind Mbappe and Haaland.
Rodrigo, who is the same age, is not as eye-catching as Vinicius, but has also played a quasi-double-double stat of 8 goals and 9 assists this season. Especially in the Champions League, he has been directly involved in 7 goals (5 goals and 2 assists) in 10 appearances. Rodrigo's last two Champions League home games have scored three goals worth thousands of gold, and if Real Madrid wins the Champions League this season, he will undoubtedly be one of the biggest contributors.
The forwards who joined Real Madrid in the same transfer window as Rodrigo are Hazard and Jovic, whose transfer fees are 100 million euros and 60 million euros respectively. In such a comparison, 45 million euros to buy Rodrigo's lottery ticket is simply bloody.