"We almost missed out" - Carlo Ancelotti comments on Kylian Mbappe after poor performance in Real Madrid's 4-0 loss to Barcelona
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has opened up on his star forward Kylian Mbappe's poor showing against Barcelona. Los Blancos suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss on their own turf at the hands of the Blaugrana in LaLiga on Saturday, October 26.
Hansi Flick's side continued their excellent run of form with a big win against their arch-rivals, thus putting an end to their 42-game unbeaten run. Barcelona have also opened up a six-point gap with Real Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table.
Kylian Mbappe was pretty poor for Los Blancos against their bitter rivals and could not make the most of the chances coming his way. Carlo Ancelotti insisted that Barca's high line nullified the threat the Frenchman could pose with his blistering pace. Following the game, the Italian manager said, as quoted by Madrid Universal:
“We knew they used the high line and we almost missed out. He had chances and sometimes he was offside.”
Ancelotti added:
“But he had three or four chances where he needed more accuracy. Something happened with the assistant, not with Flick. He wasn’t a great player.”
Kylian Mbappe has not quite been able to live up to the expectations following his high-profile move to Real Madrid in the summer. The France skipper has so far contributed with eight goals and two assists in 14 appearances for Los Blancos.
Robert Lewandowski (54', 56') scored a brace for Barcelona on Saturday, while Lamine Yamal (77') and Raphinha (84') helped themselves to a goal each.
Barcelona wonderkid takes a dig at Real Madrid after 4-0 win against Carlo Ancelotti's side
Lamine Yamal took a dig at rivals Real Madrid after helping Barcelona secure a 4-0 win against Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu. The teenage sensation insisted that the Barca players believe they are the best team in the world.
Yamal pointed out that many doubted their credentials despite a strong start to the season but that would change after beating the reigning champions of Spain and Europe. The Euro Cup 2024 winner with Spain said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X (formerly Twitter):
“We believe we are the best team in the world. They said we were beating only normal teams… now we beat Real Madrid 4-0 at their home. We've proven that we can beat anyone."
Yamal has been exceptional for Barca since breaking into the first team and is rightfully regarded as the crown jewel of the Catalan club. The 17-year-old has scored six goals and provided seven assists in 14 appearances across competitions this campaign.