Kylian Mbappe has brushed off claims that his position in the Real Madrid team has been a factor behind underwhelming form since joining the club in the summer.
Mbappe signed as a free agent to complement a Madrid squad that had recently been crowned Spanish and European champions, tipped to supercharge an already world class attacking lineup.
But it took the Frenchman four La Liga games to get off the mark in front of goal, operating as a ‘number nine’ rather than the left forward role he had mastered at Paris Saint-Germain.
Although a flurry of goals did follow, Mbappe hit a brief injury setback and then scored only once in the next seven games across all competitions. The 25-year-old was on the scoresheet on Sunday against Leganes, but he was tellingly back on the left, swapping with usual winger Vinicius Junior.
But Mbappe’s explanation for a better performance was due to finding “rhythm”, rather than necessarily being in a more familiar or preferred position.
“It was a good game, I started well, I’m starting to get into rhythm,” he told Real Madrid TV.
“I played in a different position to other games. I can play in all positions, maybe I’ll play in another one in the next game. I’m ready. It’s the story of my career, playing on the right, in the centre, on the left… I want to play well and score a lot of goals.”
Ancelotti, who had spoken ahead of the game about players being satisfied with their respective positions, insisted that swapping Mbappe and Vinicius was only the result of the latter feeling the after effects of travel to and from South America during the international break.
“Playing on the outside is more tiring than through the middle,” he claimed. “Vini Jr returned from international duty on Thursday and Mbappe was fresher than Vini Jr. He scored a goal with a fantastic assist from Vini Jr. They’re both improving bit by bit.”
