This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Zinedine Zidane made a bold choice and decided to start Rodrygo in a must-win game against Galatasaray on Thursday.
The young forward embraced the chance with open arms and mustered a great performance and that should be incentive enough for the Frenchman to give him more game time.
On the chalkboard
For all of his obvious qualities, the 18-year-old Brazilian hasn’t really been utilised often enough.
So far, we’ve only seen him feature twice in La Liga, tallying just 43 minutes in the process, and once in the Champions League just recently in that victory over Galatasaray.
But whenever he’s been given a shot, he hasn’t disappointed.
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After all, we’re talking about a player that scored a goal within minutes of being subbed on against Osasuna on matchday six and a player who was among the most proactive troopers on the pitch against Galatasaray.
The same cannot really be said for his compatriot, Vinicius Junior, who has been blowing hot and cold.
Maybe it’s time for a change.
A big step up
Vinicius is a year older than Rodrygo and so far, at least until now, he has been higher on Zidane’s priority list.
After all, he has nine games under his belt already, and despite scoring once and assisting once along the way, Rodrygo very much feels like the more mature of the two.
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Vinicius is very unpredictable and chaotic, and while that can also be a good thing for the team, it also means he’s not exactly reliable and consistent.
At the very beginning of the season, this poor run of form was evident and we’ve already seen alarm bells ringing in the media and concern over the player’s future building.
Rodrygo, on the other hand, was silently waiting for his opportunity but whenever he has actually had one, he has impressed.
For that reason, Zidane should reward him with a bigger role in the team.
After all, he deserves it.
