19 April 2023 , 10:16
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Rodrygo was the star of the show for Real Madrid, netting a brace as they beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Madrid won the tie 4-0 on aggregate and Rodrygo broke out Cristiano Ronaldo's trademark 'Siuu' celebration after scoring his first goal. The Brazilian revealed after the match that Ronaldo is his idol and he decided to pay tribute to him as his knee is "slightly tender".
"When I scored, my immediate reaction was to think about doing one of those knee slides but I've got a slightly tender knee when I flex," he said. "So it popped into my mind to copy my idol, Cristiano, and copy what he does."
Madrid are now set to face either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals and Rodrygo is confident they can go on and win the Champions League for the 15th time in the club's history. "I don't know how to explain it," he said.
"I always say it's a very special competition for me, every time I play I can help the team. I'm happy and I hope to carry on like that, scoring more goals, providing more assists and winning the Champions League again.
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"It's a pleasure to be here at Real Madrid, the biggest team in the world. We know we have almost the obligation to get to semifinals and finals and to win the Champions League. Since I arrived we've had that in our heads, we have to go far, we have to play well, and that's what we've done since I've been here: we've gone far in this competition."
Rodrygo celebrated his first goal by against Chelsea by copying Cristiano Ronaldo (Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images)And Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti hailed Rodrygo's "extraordinary" performance against Chelsea, saying: "Rodrygo's match today wasn't even as good as other matches because he has played some spectacular ones. But his effectiveness was extraordinary. The work he has done in other matches where he hasn't scored made the difference despite not scoring. But today, he sealed the deal with two goals."
Chelsea's caretaker manager Frank Lampard, meanwhile, insisted he would not "let anyone off the hook" as he continues to search for his first win since returning to the club. He told BT Sport: "Every game you play you have to give everything. I've been here now for only two weeks so I'm hungry. I won't let anyone off the hook in terms of seeing this season out. It has to be the opposite."
"We were playing world-class opposition there and we were, for me, the better team and had chances. It's the first game since I've been back that I've seen the things and we've really been implementing them - and that's something that we want to continue for the rest of the season. Now that standard cannot drop. That's the one message, once the dust settles on this, in-house."