Real Madrid did it again. They beat city rivals Atletico Madrid in a nail-biting penalty shootout, and will now face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Real Madrid won the shootout 4-2, courtesy of an Antonio Rudiger winner, as he did against Manchester City in the penalty shootout last season as well. It was another thrilling contest, but it was not always supposed to be Rudiger taking the final kick.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti talked about who he was originally going to ask to take the final penalty, but sort of threw him under the bus publicly.
Apparently, it was supposed to be Endrick taking the final spot kick, but according to Ancelotti, he did not seem convinced by that idea, which is why he went for the German centre-back instead.
When asked about the fifth penalty taker, Ancelotti said: "We weren't sure. We wanted Endrick. When I told Endrick he was taking the shot, I didn't see him so happy. So we chose Rudiger, he's more cold."
Honestly, that makes sense.
Endrick will have many more chances to take penalties for Real Madrid
Endrick, at the end of the day, is only 18 years old. He will become a great player one day, and he might have even scored the penalty had he taken it, but if he was not convinced, it was better to go with someone else.
If Ancelotti had gone with Endrick and he misses it, then it becomes problematic for the young Brazilian. Not many players would say no to taking a penalty, but Ancelotti sort of understood how Endrick was feeling at the time and chose the person who had more self-belief.
Endrick will undoubtedly take and score more penalties in the future, but maybe this was better for him to experience without getting involved.
It was for the best anyway, as Rudiger managed to just about score the last penalty and win Real Madrid the tie.