Kylian Mbappé kept his promises to the press in the mixed zone, smiling. He had just scored his first two goals for Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, also his first in La Liga, in the fourth matchday, to beat Betis (2-0): “I was hoping to score in this legendary stadium, the best in the world, but the most important thing was the victory. After the game in Las Palmas we knew we had to win and that’s what we did,” he said. “Since I arrived I’m very happy. People give me a lot of affection, even when I didn’t score. Three games without scoring is not enough for many people, but for me it’s a lot.”
The first came after a play in which Valverde left him alone with a brilliant move: “The action started with Brahim. Then Rodrygo had the ball, and Fede made that pass, I don’t know how to say what he did, an incredible backheel… And I was there. I felt that it was going to happen and I scored the goal,” he described. “The first thing I thought was if I was offside.”
The Frenchman is still in the process of adjusting to Real Madrid, something he considers natural: “I know that when a player like me comes to a team, many things change. I know that, I’m not crazy. But I think that from the first game you can see that we are a little better, right?” he explained. “The games will help us. The training sessions too, although we play every three days and we can’t work much. But we are improving. I can do much better than today and in the other games.”
Carlo Ancelotti also believes that the team has made progress, after pointing out structural problems in the first three games, both defensively and offensively: “We were better, much more united,” he said. “In the first half I had good feelings. It was a bit difficult for us to change direction, but the team was in the game. We defended well and we picked up the pace in the second half, as usually happens. It was a good second half, with the problem solved. We are not at our best level, in our best version, but this will come little by little.”
Mbappé’s second goal showed some of the progress in the rapport with Vinicius, who led to the penalty, something that Ancelotti highlighted: “Vinicius was very altruistic in letting Kylian take the penalty. They have a good relationship between them.” The Italian decided that they should choose between them who would take the penalties, and the Frenchman sees it as natural: “It’s a communication. Vini takes the first one, I take the second. The coach gives us both freedom. We have to be intelligent, see how the game is going. As I said on the first day in my presentation, I don’t want to force things, I want to do them naturally, and the penalties are something that we are going to do naturally with Vini.”
Mbappé says he is clear about why he chose to join Madrid, and it was not for goals or penalties: “My objective is the titles. That is why I came here, to win titles. I always have to score goals. I have to score every game. I only think about how to help the team win.”
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