On Loan Real Madrid Star Endrick Impresses Once Again
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Since the defeat to Albacete in Alvaro Arbeloa's first game in charge of the team, things have gone pretty well for Real Madrid. Los Blancos have won all three games since, with 2-0 victories over Levante and Villarreal, either side of a 6-1 demolition of AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League.
In that time, the four-point deficit to league leaders Barcelona has been cut to just one point, and the current mood is higher than it has been since the successful double season of 23/24 under Carlo Ancelotti.
Players such as Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Franco Mastantuono have been playing really well over the last three games. However, it is not just players currently at the club who are doing well at the moment.
Indeed not, as Real Madrid youngster Endrick is currently thriving on loan at Ligue 1 side Lyon. After scoring on his debut against Lille in the Coupe de France, the Brazilian then backed this up with an assist and an overall impressive performance on his Ligue 1 debut, in a 2-1 win at home to Brest.
Endrick nets hat-trick in third Lyon start
On Sunday, Endrick was once again named in the starting XI, as Lyon travelled to the French-German border to face Metz on match day 19 of the Ligue 1 season. Having played as a nominal right-winger (with license to drift inside) to begin with, he was deployed as a split striker for this game by manager Paulo Fonseca.
Safe to say - it worked as a treat. After just 11 minutes, the teenager had opened the scoring. As the ball was cut back, he made a darting run towards the near post, finishing perfectly with a calm side-footed finish into the corner.
The first half proved to be crazy, with Lyon 3-1 up heading into stoppage time. As the fourth official put his board up, Endrick was picked out with a through ball in behind the last line of defence, making an excellent out-to-in run to bear down on goal and place past the goalkeeper with another composed finish, despite the attention of three Metz players. Lyon went into the break 4-1 up.
Not long before the hour mark, the Real Madrid loanee was played through on goal, but with the ball slightly behind him and at a slight angle, he was unable to generate enough power to beat the keeper, despite opening his body well.
Around five minutes later, Metz scored to make it 4-2. However, with five minutes of normal time remaining, excellent footwork in tight spaces from Endrick led to him being fouled in the area, and a penalty was awarded.
The 19-year-old picked himself up to send the keeper the wrong way and complete his hat-trick, making it the perfect day at the office. A 5-2 win for Lyon, and a hat-trick for Endrick. Things couldn't have gone much better so far.
What is really encouraging is that the youngster is showing even more than just goals. Over the course of the game, he completed 3/3 dribbles, had 52 touches, won 6/7 ground duels, completed 2/3 long balls, and, as mentioned previously, won the penalty. The world is his oyster.
Three games, four goals, one assist, two big chances created, and three wins. The perfect start, both individually and collectively. Lyon are in Europa League action on Thursday, so Endrick cannot feature. So, next up for the youngster is a Ligue 1 clash at home to Lille - the team he made his debut against - on Sunday, with a 15:00 CET kick off for that one.
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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