Real Madrid became the leaders of La Liga after seeing off UD Las Palmas by securing a comeback 4-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Having conceded very early in the game, Los Blancos rode on the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe to secure a resounding victory as the Frenchman scored a double.

The scoreline could have been much more dominant for the reigning champions who had as many as three goals chalked off on the evening.

Coming into the game after a week during which he has been criticised heavily, manager Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for his megastar forward while he also did not miss the chance to hit back at the critics.

On Mbappe

There were a lot of questions about whether Mbappe can play through the middle as a No. 9 after his early struggles. But Ancelotti hailed the French forward, saying:

“He is the best centre-forward in the world, there were doubts about whether he could play there or whether he would be better on the left.

“He’s a great striker, he’s very good in the centre, more so than on the wing, he’s a unique striker and he can make the most of it on the inside.”

With Real Madrid being awarded a penalty in the first period, it was Mbappe who stepped up and dispatched it without any problems, even though he has missed from the past on a couple of occasions this season.

When asked to reveal the penalty pecking order within the team, Ancelotti replied: “Vinicius, Mbappe and Bellingham.”

On the performance and the criticism

Talking about how Real Madrid went from being criticised this week and jeered by their own supporters to now being praised after the win, the Italian remarked:

“Football is like that now, I’m still a bit confused. There are days when we play very bad football and I see Madrid as leaders. I’ll keep studying to see if I’m wrong or not.

“The match was complete, with a lot of quality. We started badly, but we held our own. Mbappe helped us a lot.”

Continuing on the topic, Ancelotti further added: “We are able to have balance for the good moments and for the difficult moments. I think the critics are harsher with Madrid than with other teams, yes.

“There is criticism and there is criticism, the whistles are criticisms that hurt, it’s the fans who are not happy, and that motivates. It’s a wake-up call. The Celta game was a useful wake-up call for the team, we put in a good performance.”

When asked if Real Madrid are the team that play the best football, Ancelotti said: “I don’t want to say that we are the team that plays best, sometimes we play well and sometimes not.

“The team is well worked, sometimes we play better and sometimes we don’t, sometimes we lack balance, sometimes we lack commitment…

“Nobody is perfect. I don’t see any super-team playing fantastic, we try to play with the characteristics of our players.”

Upon being asked what he thought of Dani Ceballos’ retort to Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone, Ancelotti refused to get dragged into the matter, saying:

“I’ve already said what I had to say, I consider it a finished topic.”

On whether this has been the toughest week for him as a Real Madrid manager, Ancelotti replied:

“No, it’s been a difficult week, as they all are when you take a blow and you have to be with the team, cheering them on…

“When you lose the Clasico it’s more difficult, of course, but when it’s difficult the only way to get through it is to be self-critical and positive.”

Source: AS