Endrick sees red as Lyon march on despite Brazilian's moment of madness
Real Madrid loanee Endrick's blistering start at Lyon hit the buffers with a straight red card against Nantes, but his teammates secured another vital win.
Lyon’s winning streak continues, but their Brazilian wonderkid won’t be part of the next chapter after a shocking dismissal.
From hero to villain
Well, that’s put a spanner in the works, hasn’t it? After lighting up Ligue 1 with five goals and an assist in his first five matches, Endrick’s honeymoon period at Lyon came to a crashing halt against Nantes.
The Real Madrid loanee, who’s been the talk of the town since arriving in France, got his marching orders on 61 minutes following a VAR review that upgraded what initially looked like a second yellow to a straight red.
The incident came after a tussle with Dehmaine Tabibou. What seemed like a standard physical battle took an ugly turn when Endrick delivered a needless kick to his opponent without any chance of playing the ball. The referee initially showed yellow but, after consulting the pitch-side monitor, reached for the red instead.
Early warning signs
The Brazilian was living dangerously from the off:
- Endrick was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Abline in the very first minute
- He took revenge seconds later, grabbing Abline to stop a counter-attack and earning a yellow card
- By the time the red card incident occurred, the temperature of the match was already at boiling point
Lyon march on regardless
Despite losing their star man, Lyon held firm to secure their 12th consecutive Ligue 1 victory - a remarkable run that’s transforming their season.
Pavel Sulc’s 25th-minute goal proved enough, deflecting in Afonso Moreira’s shot to give the visitors the advantage they never relinquished.
Nantes came agonizingly close to equalizing multiple times:
- El-Arabi headed against the post in the 51st minute
- Former Mallorca keeper Dominik Greif made a crucial point-blank save from El-Arabi in the 69th
- Guirassy struck the woodwork in the 93rd minute as Lyon rode their luck
What next for Endrick?
After such a blistering start to his Lyon career, this setback will be a proper kick in the Khyber for the Brazilian teenager. The suspension will force him to hit pause on what had been a dream start to life in European football.
The Real Madrid brass will be watching closely to see how the youngster responds to this first major setback. A bit of adversity might be just what the doctor ordered for his development - provided he learns the right lessons from his moment of madness.