Endrick impresses Ancelotti in debut, Real Madrid fall to AC Milan
Brazilian sensation Endrick made his Real Madrid debut in a 1-0 friendly loss to AC Milan on Wednesday.
The match, played at Chicago’s Soldier Field in front of a crowd of 61,568, served as a showcase for the 18-year-old forward despite the absence of several of Madrid’s star players, including Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo.
Endrick had only one shot on goal in his 45 minutes before being substituted at halftime as part of a larger rotation by manager Carlo Ancelotti, who praised Endrick’s skills.
“He [Endrick] is someone who has something truly special,” Ancelotti said. “He’s very fast, very dangerous in tight spaces, has the ability to turn with speed in little space, very agile in getting himself free and all these qualities he has means he’s a great talent. It’s rare to see a player with these types of characteristics.”
Nigeria winger Samuel Chukwueze scored the decisive goal for Milan in the 56th minute to give Portuguese manager Paulo Fonseca’s side Milan its second victory in two pre-season matches.
“We competed, we fought, we did some good things. The first game of the pre-season with a lot of youngsters, the important thing was to compete which we did for the whole game. There were some good moments and others we could improve on but that’s normal,” Ancelotti added.
Madrid’s next step in the United States tour is an edition of ‘El Clasico’ against Barcelona in New Jersey on Saturday. Mbappé and Chelsea in Charlotte.
