Rodrigo Moreno has split opinion among supporters since his move to Leeds United in 2020. But one thing that cannot be argued is that he has stepped at crucial moments in the last 12 months.
Under Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds' record signing was struggling; often playing in a deeper role that failed to get anything close to his best out of him. But Jesse Marsch has managed to unlock a much better version of the 27-time capped Spain international, pushing him to become a leader on and off the pitch, and handing him opportunities in his preferred role.
There is no doubt that the Spaniard still has both his bad games and bad moments - Brighton at home in the penultimate game of last season springs to mind, and as does his crazy cross-field pass against Arsenal in October that led to Bukayo Saka's winning goal. His good moments have certainly outweighed the bad ones this year, though.
Rodrigo's first purple patch of 2022 came between March and April last season, when he scored three goals in four matches to help Leeds pick up 10 crucial points. His contribution in the 3-2 comeback win at Wolves was huge, grabbing the game by the scruff of its neck when Leeds were at their lowest.
This season, too, he started the season like a house on fire with four goals in his opening three matches, including a superb header in the 3-0 win over Chelsea. Prior to the World Cup break, he found the net five times in just four games - two of which included a very impressive brace at Tottenham that should've seen Leeds come away with all three points rather than a 4-3 defeat.
READ MORE: Rodrigo addresses Leeds United future and his next steps with a contract entering final 18 months
At the start of pre-season, some supporters would've had Rodrigo down as third, if not fourth-choice striker. There was hope a marquee new attacker would come in, Patrick Bamford would put his injury woes behind him, and Joe Gelhardt would build on his breakthrough season.
In reality, none of those things have happened and Rodrigo has been the one to step up, sitting as the Premier League's fourth top goalscorer with only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Ivan Toney ahead of him. That is why he has been Leeds' stand-out performer of 2022.
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