"Him being the one save Ancelotti’s career is the funniest thing" - Fans praise Real Madrid star after 5-2 comeback win over Celta Vigo
Fans have heaped praise on Endrick for his performance during Real Madrid’s game with Celta Vigo in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, January 16. The Brazilian prodigy bagged a brace as Los Blancos overcame Celta 5-2 after 120 minutes to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the competition.
Real Madrid qualified for the last 16 of the Copa del Rey after defeating Deportiva Minera 5-0 in the previous round. As expected, Carlo Ancelotti’s men started the game strongly, but their first goal came towards the end of the first half. Kylian Mbappe controversially put his side ahead in the 37th minute as he took the ball from his own half into Celta Vigo’s half to power a shot home. However, Celta had a penalty call overlooked in the build-up to the goal.
Vinicius Jr. added a second for Real Madrid three minutes after the restart. However, Madrid imploded in the last 10 minutes of the game as Jonathan Bamba halved the deficit in the 83rd minute while Marcus Alonso equalized from the spot in stoppage time to force the game into extra time.
Meanwhile, it is important to note that Ancelotti brought in Endrick for Mbappe in the 79th minute. Endrick took matters into his own hands in the additional thirty minutes. He put Real Madrid ahead in the 108th minute and put the game to bed in the 119th minute. Federico Valverde added a fourth in-between the Brazilian's brace.
After the match, fans took to X to praise Endrick for his cameo. A user wrote:
''Endrick being the one save ancelotti’s career is the funniest thing."
Another tweeted:
''Endrick is better than Pele.''
''Game changer @Endrick 🇧🇷," @ArdaGulerXTra wrote.
''Endrick is a generational talent, his hall striking isn’t normal,'' @RMFC_team added.
''Endrick is insane, he need to be starting games regularly 🔥'' @Mk__maitama chimed in.
What Carlo Ancelotti said about Endrick and Real Madrid’s performance
After the match, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti gave his assessment of Endrick's performance and that of his team as a whole. Ancelotti praised Endrick's quality in and around the penalty area.
He said via the club’s website:
“Endrick has shown his quality. He is a striker who, when he has opportunities in and around the box, shows the extraordinary technique that he has."
On Real Madrid’s performance, Ancelotti said:
“When the game was almost done we gave away two goals and the game opened up. We played a good game until the 70th minute, we scored the third goal but it was offside. The team's reaction in extra time was good. In the end everything went well.”
“We let our guard down for the second goal. We came out poorly from the back, with bad positioning and it allowed them back into the game. We train to avoid these kinds of mistakes.”
On January 20, Madrid will learn who their opponent will be in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. They will next be in action against Las Palmas in La Liga on Sunday, January 19.
