The poor scoring baggage of Real Madrid, 10 goals in seven games, and Carlo Ancelotti’s lack of offensive resources, added to the muscle injury suffered by Vinícius that caused him to miss four games, increased the responsibility of the ROdrygo went with no expected scoring response. Since his goal in San Mamés, on the first day of LaLiga, he has made 29 shots without a goal.
Indisputable holder. The 9 chosen by the club to assume the weight of the goal after the farewell of Karim Benzema. The squad has been strengthened with a different style of striker, a pure center forwardJoselu Mato, as a supplement. The progressive growth of Rodrygo He has made big strides this season, his fifth at Real Madrid despite being 22 years old.
His role changed to the team led by Carlo Ancelottiwho always took care of his growth, chose him when there was a match with Marco Asensio for the right end of the offensive trident and moved him to a more natural position, behind a number 9, as soon as he had the opportunity.
And now without competition, he started this course as expected, author of the first goal of real Madrid in the official match. At the Athletic Club in San Mamés. Plays with ease as a center forward, easily finding finishing areas and creating danger. Since that goal in the 28th minute of the first day of the league match, he has not seen the goal again. And it’s not because he didn’t try. He shoots more than before, he is sharper with dribbling and acceleration, but he lacks accuracy.
From the same Athletic Club, Rodrygo He attempted 29 shots without a goal. In what was his lowest scoring campaign, 2021-22, he scored once in his first seven games but on just two shots. Now he has scored 30 goals. This is a fact that comes down to his xG (average goals scored – expected goals). From 0.60 their difference dropped to -0.46 (0.14 goals per 90 minutes – 0.60 expected goals per 90 minutes), according to BeSoccer data for EFE. Second in the big leagues in need of more scoring opportunities
Of the forwards in Europe’s major leagues, only one bettered Rodrygo’s record. It is Antoine Semenyo, a Ghanaian footballer from Bournemouth, who needs 4.25 shots to score. The Brazilian from Real Madrid is at 4. He scored 0.14 goals per game (0.41 last season) and his effectiveness went from 37.25% to 11.11%.
Rodrygo He averaged 4.1 shots per game, with 1.23 going on goal. He did not lack will, but no success. Last season he shot 2.92 on average per match and in 2021-22 he shot 2.08. His role is bigger and he needs to add success, the missed goal that Real Madrid has missed so much.
because Rodrygo He is currently dribbling more than ever (7.92 dribbles per game compared to 6.63 a year ago and 6.1 two years ago), but he has lowered his sights on passing, being the most advanced player , like in the first half of Cívitas Metropolitano against Atlético when he was the only attacker in the system chosen by Ancelotti. Zero assists and only 0.14 key passes in the danger zone.
Against UD Las Palmas on Wednesday he will have a chance to break the bad statistics and his scoring drought in a season where out of 30 shots, only nine were on goal and one ended in a goal. He never contributed a bit to Real Madrid. Even in his first campaign, 2019-20, when he put the team in five goals with thirteen shots, of which eight on goal, and he also provided an assist in his first seven games.
In the next season, 2020-21, he was more of a helper (3 assists on goals) and looked for the goal less: one goal with three shots and two on goal. Numbers that worsened in his third season, where he also scored a goal in the first seven games, his only shot on goal in two attempts. And in the last reference he managed to increase it to three goals, in addition to two assists, in 15 shots, four of them on the rival goal.
The truth is the change in Ancelotti, From a 4-3-3 where Rodrygo played on the wing to come inside or appear as a substitute for Benzema in some games as a number 9, to a 4-4-2, reducing the forwards and increased vigilance by opposing defenders, this affected the performance of Rodrygo, who was experiencing an alarming drought.
Has gone 571 minutes (not counting extras for the four complete games he played) without scoring. Too much time for a Real Madrid 9.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
