Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised the impact of Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz after they helped Los Blancos to a 2-1 win over cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday night, Afrosport reports.
The Brazilian and Moroccan scored in between Julian Alvarez’s leveller to give them a slight edge going into next week’s second leg at the Metropolitano.
Reacting to their performance after the game, Ancelotti said: “They’ve [Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz] been the best. They’ve worked hard, they’ve brought a lot into the team. The team was tidy and compact. We haven’t pressed too much but we didn’t have the idea to put a lot of pressure on them because we weren’t compact enough for that. Atletico have controlled the game at times, we have controlled it some other times, but they haven’t created many chances.”
5 – Brahim Díaz is the fifth Real Madrid player to score in three different competitions against Atlético de Madrid in the 21st century, after Sergio Ramos (four), Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo Goes. Flash. pic.twitter.com/kVkuZnqrgu
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 4, 2025
Meanwhile, Rodrygo stated it has been an amazing year for him after struggling at the start of the season. He now has 13 goals in all competitions and wants to keep up with it.
“It’s been an amazing year for me, things are working great. I think it’s the consequence of my hard work as well, which I do every day, always trying to improve,” he said.
“That’s impacting the games and I want to keep up with it. I’m aware of how important I am now, of how much I can help the team. The coach and the players trust me and I want to keep up with it.”
5 – Youngest players to score 25 goals in the Champions League:
🇳🇴 Erling Braut Haaland (22 years, 47 days).
🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé (22y, 80d)
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi (22y, 286d)
🇪🇸 Raúl González Blanco (23y, 252d)
🇧🇷 RODRYGO GOES (24y, 54d)Stellar. pic.twitter.com/IwiRbmzltX
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 4, 2025
Before the second leg, Real Madrid will host Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga on Sunday.
