Rodrygo has claimed that Real Madrid surprised Manchester City with one of their tactics during the 3-3 draw between both sides.
The Brazilian international made it 2-1 for the hosts against City after Ruben Dias’ own goal.
It seemed like the Real Madrid winger was ready to haunt the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu once again.
In the 2021/2022 season, the 23-year-old famously scored a brace in the dying embers of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at home to keep his side’s hopes alive in the competition.
Karim Benzema went on to score a spot-kick in extra-time, sending Los Blancos to the final against Liverpool, which they won 1-0.
Pep Guardiola would be relieved that despite the space Rodrygo was getting to run at City’s defence on Tuesday night, he did not exploit it even further after his goal.
Rodrygo says Man City “didn’t expect” one Real Madrid tactic
Through John Stones and Manuel Akanji taking turns to tame the versatile forward, they found a way to ensure that he does not inflict further damage on them, despite being a class act for much of the game.
The former Santos wideman was a nuisance for City to deal with, however, as he has all the tricks and flicks in his artillery while also being one of the quickest players on the pitch.
Not just Manchester City but any backline would have a difficult time trying to keep Rodrygo quiet.
Such is the quality that the speedster possesses and he tends to show it in Europe’s elite competition.
After the contest, the Champions League winner made an intriguing admission.
Rodrygo felt Real Madrid surprised Manchester City with one of their tactics on Tuesday.
“They didn’t expect me to go down the left because Vini is always there. We tried a new tactic and it worked well, even if the result wasn’t what we wanted. Now we have to think about next week”, he said [via Real Madrid’s official website].
Something City must keep in mind ahead of the second leg
Rodrygo does make a fair point as perhaps Manchester City would have expected Vinicius Junior instead of him to play on the left wing during their preparation for the clash against Real Madrid.
Ahead of the second leg, Pep Guardiola and his staff must prepare their team to deal with the devastating forward’s threat if he does start on the left flank.
Or if Carlo Ancelotti makes an in-game change to shift Rodrygo to the opposite flank, as he tends to usually play on the right wing.
The tactic certainly did work for Real Madrid but knowing Guardiola, he will drill his defenders to ensure that Rodrygo has a game to forget if he plays in his natural left-wing position at the Etihad Stadium.
