Real Madrid star Endrick escapes red card after kicking opponent in the privates

Real Madrid starlet Endrick was at the centre of controversy in their 3-2 win over Alaves after he clashed with Santiago Mourino.

Endrick appeared to kick out at Mourino and strike him below the belt with his knee as the pair tussled in the penalty area. The forward was shown a yellow card as a result of the clash, but Alaves boss Luis Garcia Plaza felt he should have been sent off.

“It’s a red card,” Garcia Plaza fumed after the game. “We should have played the last 10 minutes against 10 men. It’s a clear red, nobody can say it wasn’t. If the referee didn’t see it, that’s what the VAR is for. Maybe they got more yellows than they should have, but for Endrick, it’s a red.”

Garcia Plaza angrily confronted Carlo Ancelotti over the incident after the final whistle was blown, but the Real Madrid boss revealed insisted he had not seen the clash between Endrick and Mourino.

“It was because of Endrick’s action,” Ancelotti told reporters when asked about his heated discussion with Garcia Plaza. “I can’t give my opinion, I didn’t see it, and I haven’t seen a replay.”

Ancelotti also played down fears over Kylian Mbappe after the forward asked to be taken off late in the game with a thigh issue. “He’s okay. He’s a little sore. He asked for the substitution to avoid problems,” Ancelotti explained.

“He is already very well and so are we. The team has looked for many chances to score and I think the team is improving and that is good for us because the schedule is very demanding. We have started well after the break and we want to continue.”

Real Madrid did suffer a late scare after going 3-0 up inside 48 minutes thanks to goals from Lucas Vasquez, Mbappe and Rodrygo, with Alaves scoring two late goals through Carlos Benavidez and Kike Garcia.

However, Real Madrid were able to hold on to their lead and Ancelotti has insisted he is not concerned by the late goals. “‘That’s football. A mistake is enough for there to give confidence to the rival team,” he said.

“It’s what happens and what will happen many times in football. We don’t want it to happen but it is possible. In the 60 minutes before, we played very well.”