"His idol is Cristiano Ronaldo so I'm not surprised" - Real Madrid fans hail 'underrated' star's performance in 4-1 win over Villarreal
Real Madrid fans hailed Rodrygo Goes on X (formerly Twitter) after he had an exceptional performance in their 4-1 win against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, December 17.
Los Blancos got off to a dominant start and broke the deadlock in the 25th minute via Jude Bellingham's close-range header. Rodrygo found the bottom-left corner 12 minutes later following Luka Modric's corner but he was deemed to be offside. However, a quick VAR check allowed the goal to stand, making it 2-0.
Jose Luis Morales halved the deficit for Villarreal in the 54th minute against the run of play with a good finish. Real Madrid responded 10 minutes later via Brahim Diaz's fine strike. In the 68th minute, Rodrygo recovered possession before brilliantly setting up Modric to seal a comfortable 4-1 win.
Rodrygo had an excellent outing against Villarreal. The 22-year-old scored one goal, landed three of his shots on target, created two big chances, and completed 38 out of his 41 passes with an accuracy of 93%.
The Brazilian winger has now scored eight goals and provided five assists in his last eight games in total and is currently one of the most in-form players in the world.
One fan hailed his feats by posting:
"His idol is Cristiano Ronaldo so im not surprised."
Carlo Ancelotti and Co. are now at the top of the La Liga standings with 42 points from 17 games, one point ahead of Girona, who have played a game less.
How did Real Madrid fare against Villarreal in their La Liga fixture?
Real Madrid cruised to a dominant 4-1 win against Villarreal to get to the top of the league on Sunday. Let's take a look at the stats to see how Carlo Ancelotti's men fared against 14th-placed Villarreal.
Los Blancos comfortably dominated possession with 61 percent of the ball. They also attempted a total of 650 passes, with an accuracy of 91 percent. In contrast, Villarreal had 39 percent possession and attempted 427 passes, with an accuracy of 84 percent.
Real Madrid did look more threatening up front as well, registering a total of 22 shots, with nine being on target. Meanwhile, Villarreal could only muster three shots in total, landing just one on target.