After a rollercoaster campaign that won the hearts and minds of fans around the world, Leeds United finished the Premier League season on a high after demolishing West Bromwich Albion 3-1 at Elland Road.
It was the Whites’ fourth consecutive win in a remarkable run that saw them dart up the table to eventually finish in ninth place during their first season back in the English top-flight for 16 years.
Indeed, there was a party atmosphere at Elland Road with the Leeds crowd cheering on their team, who gave West Brom one last brutal reminder of why they will be heading back to the Championship.
That feeling of euphoria would have quickly faded on the Monday morning as it emerged that Luis Enrique hadn’t picked Leeds forward Rodrigo in his Euro 2020 squad.
The news would have come as quite a shock since the 30-year-old was becoming an ever-present for Spain under Enrique.
However, a series of injuries over the course of the 2020/2021 season has limited Rodrigo’s chances to make his Euro selection case.
Ultimately, Enrique deemed the stop-start nature of Rodrigo’s season to be too much of a risk to trust him at the Euros.
Moments after hitting the bar, Rodrigo stabs #LUFC level! 🇪🇸
What an impact from the substitute!
📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
📱 Follow #LEEMCI here: https://t.co/1UA7NQq8Fz
📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/AboZ42BRyQ— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2020
One can see where the Spanish manager is coming from, and his reservations are certainly justifiable given how much time Rodrigo has spent on the treatment table in 2021.
Then again, the stats point to the 30-year-old hitting a rich vein of form for Leeds at the end of the campaign.
In the closing four games of the season, Rodrigo has scored four goals and assisted once, a telling contribution that has enabled Leeds to climb the table and secure a top-half finish.
In some ways, there probably hasn’t ever been a better time for Enrique to pick Rodrigo given how prolific he has been in the toughest league in the world, albeit for a brief period.
The gamble would have been to see if the Leeds striker could have carried on that red-hot form during Spain’s start to the campaign.
With group fixtures against Sweden, Poland, and Slovakia lying in wait for La Roja, one could say with the greatest of respect to those nations, that the chance would have been there for Rodrigo to continue to find the back of the net.
That is top class! 🤩
Excellent ball from Harrison into Rodrigo who spins Tarkowski AND Mee! 💫
Leeds are in the mood, love to see it! pic.twitter.com/IvdeXxPJ8j
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 15, 2021
Luis Enrique’s Spanish team will begin their climb to the summit of European football without the in-form Rodrigo.
As things stand, Spain’s journey to the top looks to be a tricky one with the two-time Euro winners priced at 15/2 to go all the way in the competition.
Those odds are likely to change as the tournament goes on, with bookmakers set to provide promotions throughout the summer with the reward offerings not limited to that of just football.
Anyone looking for a casino bonus with low wagers to keep them occupied between Euro fixtures could look to sports trading and gambling expert Rob McLauchlan’s advice.
At BonusFinder, bettors will be able to find an array of generous offers that will save them time and money. This promises to be the summer that keeps on giving.
It certainly promises to be a carnival atmosphere over the next few months, but the party would have temporarily stopped in Rodrigo’s household.
The Spaniard will now be forced to come to terms with the devastating blow of not representing his country on one of football’s greatest stages.
Irrespective of a fruitful late harvest of goals, the 30-year-old will not be required to report for international duty.
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