“Mbappe is bringing a lot to the team,” says Ancelotti after France captain scores first Madrid hat-trick

“Mbappe is bringing a lot to the team,” says Ancelotti after France captain scores first Madrid hat-trick

Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti was overjoyed with Kylian Mbappe’s first hat-trick for the club as it beat bottom side Real Valladolid 3-0 away on Saturday to extend its lead atop La Liga to four points.

Ancelotti said he was delighted about the France striker’s inspired form, with eight goals in Madrid’s last five games in all competitions and finally looking like his old self, giving the defending Spanish champion more firepower in an already stacked attack.

“Mbappe is bringing a lot to the team, he’s been getting into a rhythm for a couple of months and today, for the first time, he scored a hat-trick for us.

“Obviously that’s a plus for our team, he’s a player of great quality,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“Little by little we’ve got into a good rhythm, we’ve got into a good dynamic and that’s great to see.

“As I have been saying, we are improving in the aspects that undermined us in previous games. And we must continue as we try to improve and correct some of the problems we still have.”

Real Madrid leads the standings with 49 points ahead of second-placed city rival Atletico, which slipped further behind after a 1-1 draw against Villarreal.

Atletico is followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points, but both have a game in hand.

Ancelotti seemed unfazed by Madrid’s lead, though, saying there was still a long road ahead in their title defence.

“We have to have a bit of balance and not get ahead of ourselves,” the Italian added.

“It’s true that we’ve done well in the league recently, we’ve got a good lead on top, but it’s too early to think it’s over. We have a small gap and hopefully, we can make the most of it in the next few games.”