Real won the first match in La Liga 2024-2025

Endrick has been compared to the "King of Football Pele" and received great expectations when he joined Real at the age of 18. However, the attack of the reigning La Liga champions is very crowded with the presence of Kylian Mbappe, causing rumors that Endrick will be loaned out. In the first home match of La Liga 2024-2025, coach Carlo Ancelotti continued to use the trio of Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo in attack, meaning Endrick was on the bench.

With Jude Bellingham injured, Arda Guler started. In theory, Real had a very strong attack. But the action on the pitch did not reflect that. Long passes behind the opponent's defense for Mbappe or Vinicius to accelerate were a rare bright spot in the Bernabeu team's play. But Mbappe's one-touch finish at the beginning of the match, forcing goalkeeper Karl Hein to dive to block, was the only time Real sent the ball towards the opponent's goal.

Ancelotti's men finally released the pressure at the start of the second half thanks to a somewhat fortunate opening goal. Federico Valverde's powerful free kick hit a Valladolid player and changed direction, leaving Hein unable to dive.

After falling behind, Valladolid coach Paulo Pezzolano made a series of personnel changes in an attempt to turn things around. But breaking through Real's defense was too difficult for the newly promoted La Liga team. Valladolid ended the match without a single shot on target. On the contrary, they conceded two more goals.

In the 88th minute, from a long pass from Eder Militao, Brahim Diaz cleverly covered the ball to get past two Valladolid defenders before chipping the ball past Hein. This goal extinguished the visitors' fighting spirit. In the sixth minute of injury time, Diaz still broke through before passing to Endrick - the player who replaced Mbappe 8 minutes earlier. The young Brazilian talent dribbled past the Valladolid defender and finished low into the near corner, sealing a 3-0 victory for Real.

Endrick was in high spirits after scoring on his first official match for Real, and was greeted with a standing ovation from the Bernabeu fans. The 18-year-old forward did what superstar Mbappe could not do - score his first goal for Real in La Liga.

However, the French captain can only blame himself. In the second half, Mbappe had consecutive chances to score. From the 79th to the 86th minute, Mbappe launched two shots, but both missed or could not beat Hein.

Mbappe will have to wait until Real visit Las Palmas in the third round of La Liga on August 29 to find his first goal, while a strike in this match will give Endrick more confidence in competing for a place with Real's top stars.