Endrick dedicates Madrid goal to Rüdiger: Never praise me

Real Madrid attack Endrick praised teammate Antonio Rudiger for guiding him through his goal drought and dedicating his brace in their 5-2 Copa del Rey win over Celta Vigo on Thursday to the defender.

Madrid survived a round of 16 scare at the Santiago Bernabéu as Celta battled back from 2-0 down to equalize in the 91st minute before the home side scored three goals – two from the Brazil international – in extra time.

Endrick, 18, started the season brightly, opening his account in LaLiga and the Champions League, but had not found the net since September 17 and has played a total of just 83 league minutes this campaign.

“I keep working every day,” Endrick told Real Madrid TV. “My two goals are for Antonio Rüdiger. He knows what he does for me every day. He never praises me and that’s a good thing! He tells me what to do, to score, to run, to keep going with fighting. Yesterday in training he gave me a hard fight, I thought about it at home and he is a great person.

Endrick’s first goal was fired in on the turn from the edge of the box – which the teenager celebrated by tearing off his shirt – while the second was a quick-thinking backheel inside the six-yard box.

“(The first one) was a very important goal for me,” Endrick said when asked about the exuberant celebration. “This is my job. I have to do well for the team, score goals, do whatever. To score a goal for Madrid, for these fans, the players, the staff, is really good. In the last Copa game I missed chances I had. Today I had two chances and scored.”

The cup win saw Madrid bounce back from their 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Captain Lucas Vazquez said the performance, which came after coach Carlo Ancelotti rested key players such as Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde, showed Madrid’s strength in depth.

“Endrick did well with the minutes he had,” Vazquez said. “It shows the quality in this squad. We made changes and the team did well, whoever plays delivers.”

Ancelotti was asked about whistles from sections of the Bernabéu crowd for some of his players, including the midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni.

“It’s a wake-up call from the fans to the players and the coach,” Ancelotti said. “It is acceptable with what happened in the game against Barcelona. The team reacted well, above all Tchouameni, who had a great game.”