Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he initially wanted teenage talent Endrick to take one of the penalty kicks in the Champions League shoot-out between Real Madrid and Atletico on Wednesday night, but decided against it as he thought the Brazilian looked too nervous.
Ancelotti and Real Madrid booked their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals in dramatic fashion, beating city rivals Atletico on penalties after a 2-2 draw over the two legs of the round of 16 tie.
Atleti were left heartbroken having won 1-0 on the night through Conor Gallagher’s early opener, but were not able to get the job done on penalties. VAR had to rule out Julian Alvarez’s penalty after it became clear he had accidentally touched the ball twice before it hit the back of the net.
As Marcos Llorente also went on to miss, it came down to Antonio Rüdiger to convert the winning penalty for Los Blancos.
The Germany international just about managed to squeeze his effort past Jan Oblak, who got a big hand to it, but was not able to stop it spilling underneath him.
Ancelotti wanted Endrick to take Rüdiger’s penalty in Atletico-Real Madrid
Speaking in his post-match interview, Ancelotti revealed that he had initially wanted 18-year-old Endrick to take Madrid’s fifth penalty, but admitted that he looked nervous and decided to go with Rüdiger instead.
“We had a doubt over who should have taken it, between Rüdiger and Endrick. We wanted Endrick, but then I saw his face and decided that Rüdiger was the best option,” the Italian tactician said, reported via Tuttosport.
On Alvarez’s bizzare penalty being ruled out, Ancelotti added: “It’s very strange, yeah. He touches it, taps it twice. He shoots with his right and touches it with his left. It’s a lottery, we all know that.”
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