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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Richard Parry

Rodrygo hat-trick leaves Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane waxing lyrical over teenage star

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane paid tribute to Brazilian sensation Rodrygo after scoring a hat-trick on his Champions League debut.

The teenager became the second youngest player to score a hat-trick in the competition’s history, with two goals coming in the first seven minutes.

Rodrygo would complete his hat-trick in stoppage time, as Los Blancos qualified for the knockout phase with a thumping 6-0 win over Galatasaray.

In addition, he had earlier set up Karim Benzema to score the first of his two goals after skipper Sergio Ramos had converted from the penalty spot.

Benzema's second was his 50th goal for the club in the competition and helped set up a showdown with Group A leaders Paris Saint-Germain in Spain in three weeks' time.

Rodrygo a new star at Real Madrid - and he is only just getting started Photo: REUTERS/Sergio Perez

The French side will head into the game five points better off than their hosts, but knowing Zidane's men have put a slow start to their European campaign firmly behind them.

Asked about Rodrygo's performance in the press conference after the game, Zidane said of the 18-year-old: "We are happy for him because in the end when he gets the chance to play he plays well, and he did so again tonight.

"He plays well in every sense. We know his qualities in attack well, but he also works hard in defence and helps out with a lot.

"But we need to keep calm and not put any pressure on him."

Rodrygo needed just four minutes to fire his side in front, and he helped himself to a second just three minutes later with a fine header, full-back Marcelo providing the ammunition on both occasions as Galatasaray were picked off repeatedly at the back.

Their fortunes took a further turn for the worse when, having been invited to review Steve Nzonzi's challenge on Toni Kroos on the edge of the box by the video assistant referee, German match official Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot.

Ramos resisted the temptation to allow Rodrygo to complete a quick-fire hat-trick, dinking the resulting penalty over keeper Fernando Muslera to make it 3-0.

The Brazilian teenager turned provider on the stroke of half-time, capitalising on yet another error by the Galatasaray rearguard to hand Benzema the simplest of chances to make it 4-0.

Benzema passed up two opportunities to add to his tally as time ran down, but he made no mistake when he tapped home Dani Carvajal's 81st-minute cross from point-blank range to complete a personal half-century before Rodrygo completed the rout from the Frenchman's through-ball.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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