Kylian Mbappé is once again unfortunate in Real Madrid’s defeat at Liverpool. His team-mate Luka Modric defends the Frenchman.
Real Madrid midfield star Luka Modrić has defended his team-mate Kylian Mbappé after another unfortunate performance. “We can see that he’s doing well, training well, sometimes he scores, sometimes he doesn’t,” said Modrić after Madrid’s2-0 defeat at Liverpool FC in the Champions League.
The star new signing from France was once again unfortunate in what was the Whites’ third defeat in the competition – a negative record for a defending champion. With the score at 0:1 from the Spaniards’ point of view, Mbappé failed to score a penalty against Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and missed the chance to equalize. Due to the injury to Brazilian Vinicius Junior, the international was allowed to play on his preferred left wing, but failed to make an impact away from the penalty kick.
KEYSTONE
So far, Mbappé, who moved to the Spanish capital from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, has failed to live up to the high expectations. Criticism of the 25-year-old has therefore increased recently. Modrić, on the other hand, is convinced that Mbappé will improve. “The penalty was not converted today, but we have confidence in him and I am sure that Kylian will be what is expected of him,” he said.
Real threatened with a detour via the intermediate round
It is not only Mbappé’s performances that are likely to cause Real concern at the moment, but also the Champions League table. The record winners of the competition have plummeted to 24th place with just six points from five games. This means that Real would just about qualify for the intermediate round. The top eight, who go straight through to the round of 16, are already four points away.
The difficult game at Atalanta Bergamo awaits on December 10, before a home game against RB Salzburg and a visit to Stade Brest await at the end of the league phase in January. “There is still a chance, we have to be confident, but we have to improve. We have three difficult games, especially against Atalanta. We’ll see, it’s still too early,” Modrić looked ahead.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is also relaxed about the starting position: “It doesn’t change much, because even if we had won, it would have been difficult to finish in the top eight.”
dpa
