After Kylian Mbappe ended his goal drought in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Leganes, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is certain that his tactical choice to move the Frenchman to an attacking position paid off.
The 25-year-old scored his eighth goal of the season, but since joining the La Liga winners, his position has been contested because he has found it difficult to play as a center-forward.
But the manager of Real Madrid claims that all it took for the France international to score again was a simple substitution of Brazilian attacker Vinicius Jr.
“Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside.
” We have to highlight their play to open the scoring.
” They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius.
” Little by little, they’re both improving,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
” Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher,” the coach added.
“The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well.
“He’s a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world.
” His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach’s problem to choose the best position for the team.
Despite being the team captain, Mbappe was not called up for France during the international break, and Vinicius participated in both of Brazil’s games in the South American World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.
Ancelotti expressed optimism that Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recuperating from a sprained left ankle, would return to action despite the team’s injury crisis at the back and their upcoming trip to Anfield to play Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool.
Federico Valverde of Uruguay, who played a different position and scored from a free kick, also made a positive contribution, according to him.
“Let’s see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions,” the manager said.
