Luka Modric called a 'gift for football' by Carlo Ancelotti after scoring first Copa del Rey goal in Real Madrid win
By Rhys Jones
Published 06/01/2025 at 21:33 GMT
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Luka Modric incredibly scored his first Copa del Rey goal during Real Madrid's 5-0 win over Deportiva Minera as they cruised through to the last 16. Carlo Ancelotti heaped praise on the consistently brilliant Croatian, calling him "a gift for football". Modric is in his 13th season at the club and has yet to announce if he will extend his contract, which expires in the summer of 2025.
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Luka Modric scored his first Copa del Rey goal for Real Madrid in his 13th season with the club, as he wrote another chapter in his stellar career.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti called Modric a "gift for football" following the win over Deportiva Minera at Estadio Cartagonova on Monday.
The 39-year-old's strike against the club from the fourth tier of Spanish football was his first in the competition, having joined Real in the summer of 2012 from Tottenham.
Modric recently became the club's oldest goalscorer in all competitions with a strike in their 2-1 victory against Valencia on January 3, and broke his own record in Monday's clash.
"Modric is a gift for football and even more for those who can enjoy him up close," Ancelotti said as he heaped lavish praise on the Croatian.
"For me, he is a great captain, also because of the way he prepares [for] this kind of game as if it was a final.
"He's an example for the youngsters."
Monday's victory was a routinely easy one for the Spanish giants, beating fourth-tier club Deportivo Minera 5-0.
Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga gave the visitors a 2-0 cushion inside 15 minutes. Arda Guler then netted the first of his two goals in the 28th minute.
Modric made it four 10 minutes into the second half before Guler added his second of the day.
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Ancelotti fielded a relatively inexperienced side with three players making their debuts, and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior did not see the pitch until the 63rd minute.
While 19-year-old Guler found the net twice, Endrick was unable to score despite having several chances, and could not fully make the most of a rare start for Los Blancos.
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Ancelotti, however, was content with the Brazilian's performance and believes that the goals will come for the 18-year-old.
"Endrick’s game was very good. He’s going to score goals," he said.
He added: "Endrick’s movement in the box was very good, he had a lot of chances."
Real Madrid will find out who their next opponents in the competition are when the last-16 draw takes place on Wednesday.
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