Rodrygo made the most of his last-minute addition to the Real Madrid lineup, scoring two beautiful goals and setting up another by Jude Bellingham in a 3-0 win against Cadiz that put Madrid at the top of the Spanish league.
Rodrygo swiftly went past the Cadiz defenders before hitting the top corner with goals in the 14th and 64th minutes, and then provided the assist in Bellingham’s 74th-minute goal on Sunday.
Madrid moved a point ahead of Girona, which hosts Athletic Bilbao on Monday. Madrid was four points ahead of third-place Atletico Madrid, which beat Mallorca 1-0 at home on Saturday with a goal from Antoine Griezmann. Atletico has a game in hand.
It was Bellingham’s 14th goal with Madrid in all competitions. The England international, who had been nursing a shoulder injury, leads the Spanish league with 11 goals.
Rodrygo was set to start the match on the bench but made the starting 11 at the last minute after Brahim Díaz fell ill with stomach problems.
“Rodrygo made the difference in the game today,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
It was Rodrygo’s first game since he said last week that he was the target of racist abuse on social media following Brazil’s 1-0 loss to Argentina in South American World Cup qualifying.
The Brazil forward has scored five goals in his last three games with Madrid. He calmly dealt with defenders while scoring his goals on Sunday, first inside the area and then in a breakaway.
Also out for Ancelotti’s team because of injuries were Vinícius Júnior and Eduardo Camavinga, who got hurt during the international break.
It was the second straight league win for Madrid, which is unbeaten in eight matches in the competition.
Cadiz looked threatening at times but couldn’t avoid seeing its winless streak in the league extend to nine matches, with six losses and
three draws.