Ancelotti shows Mbappe the love and urges patience after his Anfield nightmare

Carlo Ancelotti insists Kylian Mbappe simply needs time and support to establish himself at Real Madrid.

Mbappe delivered another subdued and below-par performance as Madrid lost 2-0 to in-form Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday.

The French star missed a penalty in the second half and only had one more shot as Los Blancos were ultimately well beaten.

By the 25-year-old's remarkable standards, it has been a poor start to Mbappe's career in Madrid, but Ancelotti is willing to show him the love.

“It's a difficult moment for him. We have to support him and give him our love. He will be fine soon,” Ancelotti said.

“Maybe it could be a lack of self-confidence. Sometimes you have moments when things don't go quite well for you. But you get through it.

“People miss penalties, that happens a lot. You can't give him too much grief for that.

“He works hard, he has to keep working hard and fighting. You get through these moments. Things are just not going well for him at the moment.

“We have to be patient. He is an extraordinary player.”

3 – Real Madrid become the first reigning Champions League winners to lose three group stage matches after winning the title. Setback. pic.twitter.com/Qrq57ZpXVA

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Mbappe has scored nine goals in all competitions for Madrid this season, underperforming his expected goals of 12.7 (xG).

His performance summed up a disjointed performance by Los Blancos as they became the first reigning Champions League winners to lose three games in the group stage after winning the title.

“I think it was a fair result, to be very honest,” Ancelotti added, after seeing his side collect just 0.4 xG after open play at Anfield, where goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo gave Liverpool five wins. of five in Europe under Arne Slot.

“[Liverpool] have a very good dynamic at the moment, they are switched on and playing with high intensity.”

Although Madrid sit 24th in the 36-team competition and are at risk of missing the knockout stages, Ancelotti was confident their form would improve sufficiently.

“I don't think this match was a decisive match,” he said. “We will be there, we will compete in the knockout stages, just like previous years.”