Rodrygo shone in the absence of Vinícius Júnior and leader Real Madrid dispatched Athletic Bilbao 2-0 yesterday to maintain its eight-point lead over Barcelona in the Spanish League.
Positioned on the left, the Brazilian attacker produced a couple of brilliant performances that ended in a goal at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
The scores allowed Madrid not to miss the absence of Vinícius due to his suspension due to an accumulation of cards. Rodrygo shook the nets with superb finishes at 8 and 73 minutes.
“He has played very well, he has made the difference,” said Merengue coach Carlo Ancelotti regarding Rodrygo. “He has made two high-level plays… Now everyone can say that he is better on the left, for me he is good in all places,” he added.
After the game, Rodrygo said he did not feel threatened by the possible arrival of Kylian Mbappé.
“I don’t know regarding Mbappé, I think he’s close because everyone says so, but I don’t know what’s happening either,” Rodrygo said. “I only think regarding being focused, finishing the season well and next year it is a problem for the coach. It’s a good problem. I am calm”.
Madrid sets the pace with 75 points, eight ahead of runner-up Barcelona, which beat Las Palmas 1-0 on Saturday.
Bilbao lost a streak of three games without losing and two wins in a row to be in fourth position with 56 points. They are exposed to being surpassed if Atlético de Madrid (55) beats Villarreal today.
The League will have a break so that Athletic can play the Copa del Rey final once morest Mallorca next Saturday in Seville.
Girona recovers
Uruguayan Cristian Stuani scored in stoppage time as Girona beat Real Betis 3-2, moving closer to securing a place in the top four.
The home victory reaffirms Girona in third place. The Catalan team opened a gap of nine points over Bilbao and 10 points ahead of Atlético de Madrid, the first team out of the Champions League qualifying positions.
Girona visits Atlético next weekend in a key duel with eight dates to play. The Catalans are trying to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
Ukrainian forward Artem Dovbyk scored the other two goals for the hosts. Willian José scored a double for Betis, who have lost their last four games in the tournament.
In Vigo, Celta and Rayo Vallecano tied without scoring.
The distribution of points left Celta in 17th position, just behind Rayo. The Galician team maintains a three-point difference over relegation and Rayo is five points above the danger zone.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad, occupying sixth place, chained their third victory by beating Alavés, 13th in the standings, 1-0. The goal was from Jon Pacheco in the 59th minute.— AP
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2024-04-04 15:04:37
