Despite failing in two penalty attempts, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hinted that Kylian Mbappé would still take penalties. After Real Madrid’s defeat, Mbappé found himself at the center of criticism, but Ancelotti expressed his trust in the French forward.
Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Wednesday, marking their fourth defeat in the last seven matches across all competitions. The first half ended goalless, and in the 53rd minute, Mbappé had a chance to equalize from the penalty spot, but Athletic goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala saved it. Although Jude Bellingham later equalized for Real, Athletic regained the lead shortly after due to a mistake by Federico Valverde, and the match ended 2-1.
As usual, much of the post-match discussion centered around Mbappé. Ancelotti acknowledged that Mbappé was disappointed but emphasized that he wouldn’t blame him for the loss. “I haven’t spoken to him yet. It was a tough match, and after the equalizer, we thought we had control. But we paid for small mistakes. Missing the penalty doesn’t define a player. Sometimes penalties go in, sometimes they don’t. He’s disappointed, but we must move forward.”
Mbappé had also missed a penalty in Real’s recent Champions League loss to Liverpool, and while his overall performance has not been up to expectations, Ancelotti maintained his confidence in him. “He’s not in his best form, but we must give him time to adjust. He’s scored 10 goals and is working hard to improve.”
The question arose whether Mbappé would continue taking penalties, but Ancelotti signaled that the responsibility would remain with him. “I don’t pay attention to what people say. Football is like that. I believe both Mbappé and Bellingham spoke about it, and today Mbappé took the responsibility, but sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
Ancelotti also defended Valverde, who made a costly mistake during the match. “Like Mbappé, Valverde is disappointed. He made a mistake, but we shouldn’t point fingers. He’s an outstanding player, and mistakes happen in football.”
With this loss, Real Madrid missed the chance to reduce the gap with Barcelona, who are top of the table with a four-point lead after one more game. Real Madrid are second with 33 points from 15 matches.
