So far this season, the 21-year-old Rodrigo has scored a total of eight goals, but four of them have come from the past five days. The first two goals helped Real Madrid win Espanyol 4-0 to win their 35th La Liga title. The last two goals helped Real Madrid stage the Miracle of the Bernabeu, reverse Manchester City and reach the Champions League final again after four years.
The 21-year-old Rodrigo, with these 4 goals, is no longer just a "shadow" of Vinicius, has regained the name of the twin star.
01. No Speed Power Difference: Once just a "shadow" of Vinicius
Compared with Vinicius, Rodrigo, who is a year younger, did not develop smoothly. In the past two seasons in La Liga, a total of 4 goals have been scored, 2 of which came from last weekend.
Even if we multiply his key offensive stats by 2, even if we only play half-time per game, we will find that apart from more mistakes, we can compare with Vinicius.
The key problem is that Rodrigo's dribbling speed is slow and his strength is weak. This makes him really not have the ability to break the defense under strong confrontation, and even easily concede the ball.
A lot of times it's not very difficult for Rodrigo to break the ball, all he has to do is find a physical confrontation, and his technical advantages cannot be played.
It was also for this reason that he was often a substitute for the team, and was once used as a "shadow" of Vinicius.
Real Madrid's advantage in the Champions League this season is that the team's forwards Benzema and Vinicius are very threatening to take the ball. Having such a reliable attacker is also the basis for Real Madrid to often turn tables under disadvantages.
This is one of the reasons why Rodrigo was unable to enter the key battle, and he really did not have the ability to face defenders directly.
02. Ancelotti uses soldiers like gods: accurately positioning the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses
Despite flaws that cannot be concealed, Rodrigo's shooting skills are very good, while the ball quotient is high and has a good sense of interspersed running.
Ancelotti's use of him is the ace of the backhand. When the opponent's physical fitness decreases, let Rodrigo play, reduce the chance of physical contact and confrontation, and increase the fatal blow of no ball interspersed and point grabbing.
Rodrigo's moments in the Champions League this season have been when Real Madrid have fought with all their might. Usually, under the offensive formation of the team, the attackers are often more than 4 people.
When the opponent's attention was on Benzema and Vinicius, Rodrigo's opportunity came.
Of course, City's centre-backs also have big holes in terms of staring, Kamawinga's over-the-top ball this time, manchester City defenders will real Madrid's 2 attack points into the box are missed a clean.
Rodrigo's shots are good and the efficiency of grabbing points is also very high, which is an advantage for him.
The same is true of the final goal, the Real Madrid 5 entered the penalty area to grab the point, and Manchester City's main defensive attention was on Benzema's side, and the rear point was heavily laid out.
As a result, Laporte made a fatal mistake, and his rise to the top allowed the unguarded Rodrigo behind him to score a beautiful header.
Rodrigo's two goals laid the groundwork for Real Madrid to fly to Paris. However, behind the success is also the result of Ancelotti's knowledge of people and good responsibilities, and the use of strengths and avoids weaknesses.
Of course, this is not Rodrigo's first highlight in the Champions League this season, the last time Chelsea led 3-0 at the Bernabeu, it was also Rodrigo's goal that brought Real Madrid into extra time.
In fact, these 3 goals have a big feature, that is, Rodrigo did not have any physical contact with the defender, and completed the goal by running without the ball to grab the point.
03. Rodrigo on the left is stronger: there is still the possibility of a data boom in the future
Rodrigo's strengths and weaknesses can also be seen from the statistics of the match against Manchester City, who has won only 5 of the 16 one-on-one matches in the whole game, which is not satisfactory for a player who has a clear physical advantage after nearly 70 minutes of coming off the bench.
But Rodrigo hit all three shots on goal, scoring 2 goals and showing his super strong shooting skills. His advantage in shooting is actually very large, and if used well, it may also skyrocket.
Rodrigo could even score a third goal in regular time after scoring two goals, using a stop-time reversal to eliminate Manchester City.
This time, however, he picked up Benzema and thrust straight into the box, where his shot was deflected by Ederson.
As a Brazilian attacker, Rodrigo also likes to hit the wall and cooperate. This time with Marcelo's heart, allowing him to cut into the ribs of the penalty area to get the opportunity to attack.
When defending Rodrigo, be sure to complete the physical confrontation before he takes the ball, slack off a little, once he has drilled into the shooting position, it is difficult to stop it.
Rodrigo likes to go down the left so that his right-footed shots will be smooth. It's just that the regular starter in this position is Vinicius, who is powerless to shake for a moment.
Rodrigo moved quickly on goal while pressing down the center of gravity to hit the lower angle steadily. So if he can get more opportunities to attack from the left, the increase in his goals is foreseeable.
However, because of the presence of Vinicius, and if mbappe is present next season, I am afraid that Rodrigo will not have a chance to make a fuss in this area.
Vinicius, Rodrigo and Camarenga, these three young people have played highlight moments on the road to Real Madrid's Champions League promotion this season, have given great help to the team, and will become the pillars of Real Madrid in the future.
If Mbappe and Rudiger are given visa-free this summer, Real Madrid's team building in recent years does have too much praiseworthy.
Conclusion:
Born on January 9, 2001, Rodrigo, who is only 22 years old after next year's World Cup, is still very young. Trapped in physical fitness and explosive power, he has not yet been able to fulfill the super talent that was once given high hopes.
But under Ancelotti, who is good at tapping into the potential of his genius, Rodrigo has at least become a very good special player. The key 3 goals on the road to the Champions League knockout rounds will also give him more expectations and eager to see him make more progress in the future.