Real Madrid made it look relatively easy against Shakhtar on Tuesday night, with Rodrygo adding another standout performance to his breakout campaign. The youngster was named Man of the Match for Real Madrid against Shakhtar Donetsk by the UEFA Observers' Group. “Outshined” by Vinicius’ performances during the last year, Rodrygo continues to grow and is quickly becoming a key figure for Real Madrid.
The Brazilian, who was instrumental in the Champions League matchday three victory was a key man in both goals scoring and assisting once. He opened the scoring after 13 minutes with a pinpoint right-footed shot from the edge of the area leaving the keeper with little to do. Besides the goal, it was his link up with Karim Benzema and his delightful move that led to Madrid's second goal what really turned heads.
Their connection was the key to the result, with Carlo Ancelotti no doubt pleased to see the youngster continue his development on the biggest stage. Rodrygo expressed his happiness after the game, saying: "I’m delighted to score and provide an assist, but the most important thing was the win. We played really well and we can go home happy tonight”.
The second half: "The mister asked us to focus much more because it seemed like the game was easy in the first half, because we were so comfortable, but it got a bit complicated. We knew the opposition were very good and they could cause us problems. In the end, we managed to come through it and we got the win”.
His special relationship with the Champions League: "The Champions League has been a very special competition from the moment I played my first game and I felt something different. Something always seems to happen in the Champions League: a goal or an assist. Today I got both. I hope it’s always like this”.
The connection with Vini Jr. and Benzema: "When good players link up good things can happen and it wasn’t going to be different with Karim, Vini Jr. and myself. We put in a great performance and linked up well many times. We could’ve scored more goals, but I’m happy”.
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