Champions League: 'A mockery!' – Endrick did 'everything wrong' despite sealing Real Madrid win

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Endrick announced himself on the UEFA Champions League stage on Tuesday evening, ignoring Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior to thump home Real Madrid's third goal at the Bernabeu. The teenager sensationally sealed the 3-1 win over Stuttgart for the La Liga champions, but TNT Sports pundits Joe Cole and Steve McManaman agreed that the Brazilian should not have taken the shot in the first place.

Endrick ignores Mbappe, Vinicius runs before firing home on Champions League debut

Video credit: TNT Sports

Steve McManaman insisted Endrick’s late strike for Real Madrid “makes a mockery of football” as Joe Cole agreed the youngster made the wrong decision to shoot.

The 18-year-old Brazilian officially joined the Liga champions over the summer, and his long-range, injury-time effort sealed a 3-1 win over Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League at the Bernabeu.

Kylian Mbappe’s first Champions League goal for his new club and Antonio Rudiger’s glancing header came either side of Deniz Undav’s shock equaliser.

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But with options to the left and right of the former Palmeiras forward, TNT Sports experts Cole and McManaman believed Endrick should have taken a different option.

Cole said: “He actually does everything wrong. He takes the shot too early, he should have passed it.

Endrick did 'everything wrong' despite scoring

Video credit: TNT Sports

“But do you know what he’s got? He’s got that - like Jermaine Defoe, the reason he’s blindsided the goalkeeper - power he gets from the start, it's fantastic on his strike.”

McManaman added: “It makes a mockery of football, doesn’t it? Because as Joe said, everything he did there was wrong.

“If you were his team-mate, you’d be shouting and screaming just to put Vinicius in to his right, but he ends up with the goal.”

Endrick already has 11 caps for his national side, scoring three goals in the process, including the winner against England in March.

“I was covering his first goal for Brazil against England at Wembley, and it was a pleasure to watch. You felt like you were in the presence of something that could be special," said Cole.

And while Endrick has been limited to very brief substitute appearances for his new club this season, the diminutive attacker scored on his league debut in a 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.

Highlights: Mbappe and Endrick score as Real Madrid survive Stuttgart scare

Video credit: TNT Sports

In fact, his 17-minute cameo against Stuttgart was the longest he has spent on the pitch for Madrid so far this campaign, something that suggests to McManaman he will be protected in his development.

“You can see he’s a work in progress,” said McManaman. “He’s still very young, isn’t he? Madrid will dip him in and out because I don’t think he’s really ready yet at the top level here.

“Yes, he is in South America, but not here. He scores one in the league after coming on, he scores one in the Champions League.

“They’ll take him back out now, wrap him in cotton wool, and he’ll keep learning. But he’s certainly one for the future.”

TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

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