Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti played down concerns over the injury that forced Kylian Mbappe off against Atalanta on Tuesday night.
Mbappé started brilliantly in Bergamo. From the first whistle, the offside Frenchman looked to have regained his trademark sharpness, converting Atalanta’s Isak Hien either side of his first goal scored.
That ten-minute goal took Mbappé’s personal tally to 50 in the game Champions Leaguemaking him the second youngest player in the history of the competition to achieve this milestone. However, a promising afternoon was cut short by an injury in the 35th minute.
With no pressure from any opposing players, the 25-year-old collapsed to the turf clutching his left thigh. Rodrygo, that has been plagued with wounds of his own this season, he was rushed onto the pitch as his replacement.
Reflecting on a Victory 3-2 that keeps Madrid’s hopes of automatic qualification for the last 16 alive, Ancelotti revealed: “Kylian MbappéThe injury doesn’t look serious.” The Italian insisted his forced departure was nothing more than “an overload”.
Before limping out and heading straight down the tunnel, Real MadridNumber nine attracted attention. “Mbappe played well at the start and scored a great goal,” Ancelotti said. “The key was forward mobility. Vinicius moved a lot to get the center back away from Kylian.
“We scored the third thanks to a change of position between Vinicius and (Jude) Bellingham. Mbappe couldn’t give us more and Rodrygo came on for him, but he wasn’t 100%. He gave everything he could. With Mbappe 100%, we could have done a lot better.”
There is not much time for Madrid’s revamped first line to recover. The Spanish champions will make the short trip to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday before leaving for Qatar for the Final of the Intercontinental Cup – Not to be confused with the new FIFA Club World Cup tournament this summer.
