Carlo Ancelotti believes that Kylian Mbappe “has the possibility” of matching Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid ergenheid after the Frenchman was equal to his debut season goal.
Mbappe scored twice to help Madrid come from behind to beat Leganes 3-2 on Saturday, which means that he has now scored 33 goals in all competitions this season.
He has now matched both Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy's count of their debut seasons, with only Ivan Zamorano (37 in 1992-93) scoring more.
Ronaldo, who came to Madrid before the 2009-10 season, then became the record goalscorer of the club of all time and scored 450 goals for Los Blancos in all competitions. He also won the Champions League and two LaLiga titles four times, under a total of 16 trophies.
“It is difficult to compare different players,” Ancelotti said in a press conference on Monday when he was asked if Mbappe could become the best player in history.
“I can hope that Mbappe can achieve what Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved at Real Madrid. I think he has the opportunity to do it.
“If he does that, he will be a legend in Real Madrid as Cristiano is Ronaldo.”
Madrid's attention focuses on Tuesday to their Copa del Rey Semi-Final Second Been, with the side of Ancelotti who has a 1-0 lead about Real Sociedad in half of the stage.
It is the first of five games in a 15-day wingspan, with a two-legged Champions League quarterfinals a draw against Arsenal on 8 and 16. They are also confronted with Valencia and Deportivo Alaves in Laliga, where they are three points behind leaders Barcelona.
By keeping players focused by an overloaded and difficult luminaire schedule, a challenge has been a challenge for Ancelotti, but he finds extra motivation of the prospect of close to reaching another Copa del Rey final.
“The preparation of competitions, the burden of injuries … We have to manage all this in the hope that one day we can have more time to prepare for the competitions,” said Ancelotti.
“It will be a very demanding season, and so far we have managed it well. We try to do it [keep players focused]But it is a bit more complicated because the calendar wears us a lot. “
The 65-year-old also enjoys the chance to become the first Madrid manager who wins three Copa del Rey titles, who also won it in 2013-14 and 2022-23.
“It motivates me to be close to a final, because it does the players and the club. In this sense I am very motivated by being close and the advantage we have,” he added.
Ancelotti said that injuries to important defenders Daniel Carvajal, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy, and midfielder Dani Ceballos Madrid were vulnerable.
“We are less solid than last year, but more effective in advance. We have had a number of very important injuries in the back and we lost our firmness,” he said.
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