Whatever the reason, Carlo Ancelotti deserves praise for putting Jude Bellingham on the bench against Sporting Braga. On the day Real Madrid’s most powerful cannon was sidelined for 90 minutes, the white-shirted club’s attackers helped fans decode the question mark about their ability to score goals without number 5.
Bellingham’s direct replacement, Brahim Diaz opened the scoring before the highly anticipated Brazilian pair Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo simultaneously opened fire. For the first time in Real colors, Vinicius and Rodrygo both scored and assisted in a match. Both of them naturally created even more impressive statistics in the match against Sporting Braga.
Vinicius and Rodrygo scored against Braga.
Rodrygo only played 77 minutes but received the highest score from Sofascore with 9.1. He hit 3/5 shots on target, successfully completed 2/2 dribble attempts, created 1 key pass and had 1 pass that created a good opportunity.
Vinicius showed even more creativity with 7 key passes and contributed 2 passes to create favorable opportunities. He finished once and that ball scored a goal. In addition, the player born in 2000 also touched the ball 55 times, which shows that number 7 is the main ball striker on Real Madrid’s attack.
The brilliance of Vinicius and Rodrygo in Bellingham’s absence came at the right time. Bellingham’s 13 goals in all competitions completely overshadowed other strikers. Therefore, the contributions of Vinicius and Rodrygo are very limited.
Before welcoming Braga, statistics showed that Vinicius only contributed 3 goals and 2 assists. Remember, at this stage last season, Vinicius pocketed 5 goals and 4 assists. As for Rodrygo, he only has 2 goals and 1 assist. That parameter is modest compared to the 10 phases that contributed to goals at the same stage last season.
Those statistics cannot match the level of Vinicius and Rodrygo, especially when Real has parted ways with Karim Benzema. Therefore, after the 0-0 draw, Real’s attack faced great pressure, which put coach Carlo Ancelotti in front of question marks. However, the Italian coach affirmed that he is still very satisfied with the staff in hand and he seems to be right after the latest shining performances from Vinicius and Rodrygo.
Another question that has been raised is whether Bellingham is unintentionally holding back two Brazilian stars? Even without the former Borussia Dortmund star, both scored. Therefore, if Bellingham wants to activate the peak performance of the Samba couple, Bellingham needs to sit on the bench?
The 2 Brazilian stars need to continue shooting.
That is an almost unlikely scenario given what the English midfielder can do, but those doubts are well-founded because Vinicius and Rodrygo seem to be “unchained”, free to struggle because they replace Bellingham as the nucleus of the team. play.
To find a way to harmonize all three, everyone contributes to Real’s victory, Ancelotti needs to continue to experiment. Remember, the 4-3-1-2 system has only been used for about the first 3 months of this season. It is understandable that the three are not in sync and cannot take turns supporting each other. In the immediate future, Real fans are still happy because confidence has definitely returned to Vinicius and Rodrygo after their goals in the Champions League.
Lu Phong | 11:02 November 9, 2023
