MADRID: Brazilian teenage striker Endrick came off the bench to score two goals in extra time and help Real Madrid rescue a hard-fought 5-2 win over Celta Vigo on Thursday that booked them a place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr had scored a goal in each half to give Real what looked a comfortable 2-0 lead, Celta levelled the scoring with late goals from Jonathan Bamba and Marcos Alonso that took the game to extra time.

As the game looked destined for a penalty shootout, 18-year-old substitute Endrick worked his magic to give the lead back to the home side with a sharp swivel and shot from the edge of the box in the 108th minute.

Four minutes later his team-mate Federico Valverde unleashed a thunderous strike from long range into the top corner to extend their lead, with Endrick wrapping the win with a brilliant back-heel flick in the 119th minute.

“This is Real Madrid, we fight until the end, until we find the win. We never go down, we always fight,” Endrick told Real Madrid TV.

“It was a tough match, but what matters is that we scored the goals and won. We knew that in extra time we had to run more, do more, go up. We scored three very good goals. They are very important goals for me. I love playing this game and even more at this stadium, in front of these fans.”

Playing their first game at Santiago Bernabeu in 2025 and after a humiliating 5-2 loss to rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, Real players and manager Carlo Ancelotti were welcomed with heavy booing by their fans, who grew in frustration in a dour, slow paced first half.

Ancelotti said that he understands the club fans booing him and his team.

“The fans booed to give us a wake-up call and then later because the team started to complicate a game that we were well on the way to winning with 2-0,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“But then the fans started to push and when the Santiago Bernabeu pushes it’s something very special for us. Good thing we played well in extra-time and managed to win the match, so it was all good in the end.”

Mbappe’s strike, though, changed the mood as he gave Los Blancos the lead with a bullet strike in a quick counter attack in the 37th minute.

The goal came after a controversial decision by the referee to not award Celta a penalty for a foul by Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on forward Williot Swedberg.

Real improved after the break and it took three minutes to extend their lead through Vinicius.

The visitors were often left exposed with Mbappe wasting two golden opportunities from close-range and defender Carl Starfelt making a goalline clearance to deny Vinicius his second before Brahim Diaz also missed a great chance.

But when it looked like Real were cruising to an easy win, a bad mistake by substitute Eduardo Camavinga — who suffered a hamstring injury during the match — gifted the ball to Pablo Duran on the edge of the box, who assisted Bamba to stroke past Lunin in the 83rd minute.

Six minutes later, Real were caught off-guard in a quick counter and defender Raul Asencio was late to a challenge on Bamba, running over the Ivorian forward inside the box, resulting in a penalty that former Chelsea fullback Marcos Alonso slotted just inside the left post.

The booing resumed into extra time and Real struggled to create any clear chances until Endrick and Valverde rescued their side from another debacle.

Real joined Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Getafe, Leganes, Valencia, Osasuna and Real Sociedad in the quarter-finals which will be determined in a draw on Monday.

Earlier, Osasuna knocked out cup holders Athletic Bilbao with an entertaining 3-2 win at the San Mames, while Real Sociedad ousted Rayo Vallecano with a 3-1 victory.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025