Real Madrid's head coach is backing Kylian Mbappe, who is struggling to reach the high level of performance expected when he joined from Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe missed a second straight penalty in Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, having also had a penalty saved by Caomhin Kelleher in the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool last week.
It was another performance from the Frenchman who failed to reach the top against Bilbao, with Mbappe having scored eight LaLiga goals for the club this season and ten in all competitions.
“He is at much more than just 1% [of his potential]but he is not at his best,” Ancelotti told a news conference.
“But we have to give him time to adapt [to Real Madrid]. He has scored 10 goals and is working hard to improve and do better.
“I haven't spoken to him yet. It was a complicated, even, hard-fought, competitive match. We missed a penalty, I don't judge a player's game because of a missed penalty. Sometimes you score and sometimes you miss. It's Obviously he is sad and disappointed, but we have to move on.”
2 – Kylian Mbappe has missed two of his five penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, more than any other LaLiga player this season. Busy. pic.twitter.com/2tAWbsdVY0
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 4, 2024
Real Madrid have now lost four of their last seven games in all competitions and have missed the opportunity to close the gap on leaders Barcelona, who are four points clear on 37 after playing a game more.
“The match was even. Athletic are a very dangerous team, we fought and fought. I think the match was worth a draw,” Ancelotti said.
“But it is what it is. We are still in the fight and we have to keep fighting. We could have achieved a better result, but we are here and we have to think about Saturday's match in Girona.”
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