24-year-old Real Madrid star continues to struggle with form with another poor outing in the Copa del Rey final | OneFootball

Real Madrid had just won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga double at the end of the last season, and almost all of their players had a part to play in these victorious campaigns.

Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes spearheaded the Merengues’ attack in this 2023-24 season, while Joselu, Arda Guler, and Brahim Diaz also made significant contributions from the bench.

However, the arrival of Kylian Mbappe in the ensuing summer still threatened the positions of some of these stars, especially that of Rodrygo, as Vinicius was already too big a star to be demoted from a starting role.

After some experimentation, Carlo Ancelotti found a way to keep both Mbappe and Rodrygo in his starting lineup, as he selected a 3-man forward line, with Vinicius the third attacker.

Throughout the season, Vinicius and Mbappe have made their cases for being the leaders of the Real Madrid attack. However, Rodrygo has largely been unable to showcase his brilliance a lot, and has been suffering from a prolonged patch of bad form lately.

He was once again rather invisible as Ancelotti started him with Vinicius for the Copa del Rey final last Saturday. The Brazilian did not leave many good memories till the half-time break, when he was replaced by Kylian Mbappe, who did not start as he had not fully recovered from the sprain he had suffered in the second leg game against Arsenal.

In this cup final, Sofascore statistics show that Rodrygo made only 8 passes in the 45 minutes he remained on the pitch, all of them accurate, and lost possession 5 times. He completed 1 of the 2 dribbles he attempted and 3 of the 7 duels he was engaged in. Defensively, he made 1 clearance, 2 interceptions, and 1 tackle. Other than that, he had no notable contributions.

However, this was only the latest underwhelming outing from the Samba star, who has been struggling with form for quite some time now. In fact, the last time he made a direct goal contribution was in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final tie against Real Sociedad, in which he assisted Aurelien Tchouameni for his side’s third goal on the night.

His last goal came in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid, as he opened the score in the 4th minute of the game. He is yet to get on the scoresheet since that match on March 5th.

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes celebrating after his goal against Atletico Madrid. [Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images]

In La Liga, his last goal contribution came in the 3-2 win over Leganes on February 6th, as he assisted Luka Modric’s strike in the 18th minute. But we will have to go even further back to find the last time he got on the scoresheet in a La Liga game, as his last league goal came on January 19th, when he scored the fourth goal in a 4-1 win for Real Madrid over Las Palmas.

This season, Rodrygo has played 30 La Liga matches so far, starting 22 of them. But the Brazilian has only 6 goals and 5 assists to his name in these games. His record has been significantly better in the UCL, where he has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists in 12 appearances.

There is no doubt that the Brazilian has already made some heroic contributions for Real Madrid over the years. However, he has been significantly below his expected standards this season, and one can only hope that he will be able to improve his form if he stays a part of the team for the next season.