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Carlo Ancelotti said Kylian Mbappé is suffering from “a lack of confidence” after the forward missed a penalty in Real Madrid‘s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Mbappé had the chance to level the game at 1-1 in the 61st minute — after Alexis Mac Allister had put Liverpool ahead at Anfield — but his spot kick was saved by Caoimhín Kelleher.
Mo Salah also missed a penalty, before Cody Gakpo doubled the home side’s lead with a header, to put Liverpool top of the Champions League table, and leave Madrid struggling in 24th place.
“It happens a lot with forwards, there are times when it’s hard for them to score,” Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “There’s a cure, and it’s patience. It’s a difficult moment for him, above all today, with the missed penalty. Everyone has to support him.
“It could be a lack of confidence. Sometimes, when you have a moment when things aren’t going well, the idea is to play simply, and you can complicate things a bit. He’s scored a lot of penalties. Sometimes you can miss one.
“He has to work, keep fighting, and the moment will pass.”
Mbappé has now scored just two goals in his last nine Madrid games in all competitions, and failed to find the net in their last four Champions League matches.
“He looks good to us, he’s training well, he’s confident,” midfielder Luka Modric told Movistar. “Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t, today it didn’t, above all with the penalty, but we believe in him. Kylian will do what’s expected of him, for sure.”
“[Mbappé] isn’t scoring the goals he’d like to,” substitute Dani Ceballos said. “We have to wait for him. It isn’t easy coming to a club like Real Madrid. I think he’ll do a lot for this club, and this team.”
Ancelotti admitted that Liverpool had deserved the victory, having created a number of clear chances.
“To be honest, it’s the right result,” Ancelotti said. “Liverpool deserved to win, they’re in good form. We did well in the first half, our plan went well… The team competed until the penalty.”
Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was substituted with a muscular injury in his left leg in the 56th minute.
“It could be a strain, he felt something, and that’s two or three weeks at least,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said.