Kylian Mbappe: Carlo Ancelotti insists Real Madrid striker 'will soon ...

Published 28/11/2024 at 09:58 GMT

Carlo Ancelotti has backed the "extraordinary" Kylian Mbappe to rediscover his devastating goalscoring form after a difficult start to life at Real Madrid.

Mbappe failed to make an impact and missed a penalty in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

The French star scored 44 goals for Paris Saint-Germain last season, but has looked a shadow of his former self for parts this season.

But the striker has still racked up nine goals in his opening 18 games for the Spanish club - including seven in 12 La Liga games - and Ancelotti is confident he will soon be back to his best.

"This has happened before in my career many times. When you are a striker, you want to score and get a bit of confidence," the Madrid manager said. 

"There is a medicine which is a difficult moment for him. I think for Mbappe, it is a difficult moment. We have to support him and give him our love, he will soon be fine. 

"It could be a lack of confidence maybe. Sometimes, maybe when you have moments when things aren’t working out, the idea is to keep things simple, don’t complicate life.

"You don’t need to blame him for missing penalties. People miss penalties, it happens a lot.

"Things are not running for him. We've got to be patient. He is an extraordinary player — a fantastic player."

Mbappe, who was left out of Didier Deschamps’ latest France squad, has only managed one goal in the Champions League since his Los Blancos arrival.

Madrid are in freefall in the inaugural European league phase and currently sit 24th after back-to-back defeats, having become the first reigning champions to lose three group-stage games.

With three games to save their campaign in a bid to defend their title, a top-eight finish and an automatic route to the round of 16 looks seemingly beyond them.

However, their domestic form has picked up to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona with comfortable wins over Osasuna and Leganes.

Mbappe found the net against the latter, ending a four-game goalless streak.

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