VIDEO: Modric misses the empty net! You’re lucky the World Cup nomination is closed, Ancelotti laughed

Even a master carpenter makes mistakes sometimes. And this is also true in the case of Ballon d’Or winner and one of the best midfielders in the world, Luka Modric. The Croatian footballer missed an empty goal from literally just a few metres in the last autumn match against Cadiz.

Real Madrid did not have an ideal week. After a home and completely unnecessary loss to Girona (1:1), they did recover in the Champions League, only to suffer their first defeat in the league against Rayo Vallecano (2:3) at the weekend.

The accumulated fatigue and the fact that they are afraid of getting injured before the peak of their career was very evident. The World Cup is just around the corner and several players have dropped out due to injuries in recent days.

However, Real had to play one last game before the national break, at home to the unpopular Cadiz. Why unpopular? Because the Andalusian team is known for its extremely tough defending, with almost 10 men defending in the whitewash for the whole game and playing very sharply. Last year Los Blancos drew 0:0 with Cadiz at home.

This time, however, they could not afford to lose. In the first half, Eder Militao scored after a Toni Kroos centre. The German was also on the scoresheet for the second goal, when he increased the score to 2: 0 with a wonderful volley in the 70th minute.

In the 79th minute, Real could have increased the score to 3:0. Vinícius beautifully rounded three opposing players, dragged the ball into the box and presented a treat for Luka Modric, who only needed to hit the empty net from the small area. But even the best sometimes make mistakes.

From the overhead camera, it looks even worse. But Real scored two minutes later to make it 1: 2, and Cadiz had one more great chance in the last minute, so the Merengues could have been very disappointed.

In the end, though, everything worked out well and there was room for jokes. And Modric was the target of those with all his teammates and coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“How did Modric explain his failure to me? Nothing, he still can’t believe it. He’s a bit lost,” coach Ancelotti laughed at the press conference.

When asked what he had to say, the Italian coach made all the journalists present laugh again. “I told him that he is lucky that Croatia’s nomination for the World Cup is already closed,” Ancelotti joked.

Even his teammates were teasing Modric. It is not usual for a player of his quality to throw away such a chance.

“They say someone threw away a huge chance…, ” Modric wrote on his Twitter and Instagram. And his teammates immediately began to tease him. “Forget it, my friend. They moved your goal. It ‘s not your fault,” Valverde laughed. “There wasn’t much space…,” Lucas Vázquez snapped.

“It’s nothing, ” laughed Vinícius, who was denied an assist by Modric. “You gave me a terrible pass! ” the Croatian replied with a laugh.

Source: Twitter, La Liga, Real Madrid