Defiant Carlo Ancelotti has given his verdict on Kylian Mbappe’s struggles in Real Madrid’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in Saturday night’s El Clasico.
Madrid lost for the first time this season as they crashed out against their rivals at the Bernabéu, with Barca scoring four second-half goals in a defeat to their biggest rivals.
With the game 0-0 at half-time, Roberto Lewandowski scored twice in as many minutes before Lamine Yamal broke another record and Raphinha put the icing on the cake with a fourth.
Mbappe was criticized by some fans after he was offside seven times in the match, resulting in two goals being disallowed. The France captain has scored eight goals in 14 games since joining Los Blancos from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer but has been criticized for struggling to adapt to his new team.
Ancelotti spoke about his striker after the match, explaining that he knew Barcelona would try to catch him offside.
A defiant Carlo Ancelotti (pictured) has given his verdict on Kylian Mbappe’s performance against Barcelona
Mbappé (photo) was offside seven times in the match and had two goals disallowed as a result
Ancelotti urged his striker to be more clinical after predicting Barcelona’s high line
“They were known to use the high line and we hardly used it at all,” he said. ‘He had chances and sometimes he was offside.
‘But we had three or four chances where they needed more success. I have no regrets about our approach. We did have chances.
‘It’s a difficult moment, as always when you lose. And even more so when you do that after so many undefeated matches.’
Meanwhile, after Raphinha’s goal, things seemed to get heated on the touchline as the two benches collided.
Ancelotti and Barcelona boss Hansi Flick both appeared to be involved and spoke about the incident after the match.
“I didn’t see it,” Flick said. ‘I have spoken to him, but it is a normal situation. We celebrated the goal. We are mature enough to talk about this.’
Ancelotti, meanwhile, added: ‘I didn’t argue with Hansi Flick, I got angry with one of his associates. He made gestures towards our sofa, he didn’t behave like a gentleman.’
It’s a result that puts Barca six points clear at the top of LaLiga, leaving more questions than answers for a Madrid team expected to emerge as near world-beaters this season.
But manager Ancelotti is unconcerned, defending his team after the match and appearing to view the result as almost an anomaly due to the humiliation.
He also opened up about his alleged clash with co-star Hansi Flick (right) during the match
The defeat is Madrid’s first of the season and leaves them six points behind their rivals at the top of the table
“We don’t have to throw everything in the trash,” he said. ‘We have to forget the last thirty minutes.
‘It doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch. We didn’t get any further on the scoreboard and they took advantage of it. The match was very even until the first goal and we had more chances.
‘We already lost 4-0 to Barcelona here and won LaLiga and the Champions League. We won’t be far off from last season.’