Madrid 'lacked balance' in La Liga opener, claims Ancelotti

Kylian Mbappe was left frustrated on his Real Madrid La Liga debut on Sunday as a resilient Real Mallorca held the European champions to a 1-1 draw in their title defence opener.

"We went ahead, we had chances to score the second, and then in the second half we lacked balance," Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters. "We conceded counter-attacks, it was not a good game, it was quite a clear game to see that we need to defend better and have better balance on the pitch."

Ancelotti selected the same starting line-up which defeated Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, with Jude Bellingham in midfield behind the Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo attacking line.

Mbappe scored in that victory but the former Paris Saint-Germain forward was unable to celebrate his first match in his new homeland with another goal. Ancelotti was not impressed with his team's work-rate.

"We have to do better, with more attitude," continued the Italian coach. "This game can serve us to learn a lot from, it's a game where it was quite clear where we had a problem. Mallorca had a very good game in a defensive sense, better than us."

 

August 18, 2024