Carlo Ancelotti praised Kylian Mbappé‘s performance after the forward scored in Real Madrid‘s 2-0 win away at Real Sociedad on Saturday, saying Mbappé looked “fresher, more active” and is “improving a lot.”
Vinícius Júnior opened the scoring at the Reale Arena in the 58th minute, converting a penalty after Sergio Gómez‘s handball, before Mbappé added another penalty in the 75th minute when Vinícius was fouled.
Mbappé now has three goals in five LaLiga games this season.
“[Mbappé] looks fresher, more active on the ball,” Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “He’s very dangerous, combining well with Vinícius and the other forwards. He’s improving. I liked his game a lot.”
Ancelotti said he’d left Vinícius and Mbappé to decide who should take penalties, with both now having scored twice from the spot this campaign.
“First it was Vini who scored, and then they decided Kylian should take one,” Ancelotti said. “They take the responsibility, and so far it has gone well.”
Mbappé himself told Real Madrid TV that he feels he is adapting to his new surroundings.
“Every game I’m feeling better, I’m understanding what the team, the manager and my teammates need,” Mbappé said. “[Vinícius and I] try to find each other in the game and in training to find that connection, he’s a great player.
“The important thing is that the four penalties [so far this season] were goals, not who takes them. We scored all four, and that’s the most important thing.”
“[Vinícius and Mbappé] are working together better all the time,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Real Madrid TV. “With them we have a lot of danger up front. They’ll score a lot of goals.”
The result in San Sebastián means Madrid have 11 points from five LaLiga games, with three wins and two draws,
“We aren’t at 100%, that’s quite normal,” Ancelotti said. “But individually, the players are improving a lot. We can talk about all the problems in this game but we’re happy. When you’re missing four midfielders, it’s hard to find balance.”
The coach was referring to the absence of Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos through injury.
“It was a difficult game, we probably didn’t deserve to win,” Ancelotti admitted. “Real Sociedad played very well. We suffered, and we held on. I value that a lot.”
