The Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, praised his striker Kylian Mbappe after he scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday that led the headlines of the Champions League to the last 16.
Ancelotti said Mbappe had the potential to reach the same level as the Great Christian Club Ronaldo, who is the top scorer of all the real time with 451 goals in 438 games for the winners of the Champions League 15 times.
“He has the quality of reaching his numbers, but he has to work, because Cristiano put the bar very high, but he is very excited to play here, he can reach the level of Christian,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“Everyone expected this hat-trick of him and finally he has arrived. But Mbappe is not the only one, we have many players who make a difference. And they make a difference with their collective work above their individual quality, which is remarkable,”
Ancelotti regretted that his team had to go through the pain of the knockout round, but said they were to blame after a slow start to the campaign that made them end out of the eight best in the classification of the League.
The headlines will face Bayer Leverkusen or the city’s rivals, Atlético de Madrid, depending on the draw on Friday, since they are looking for a title 16 that extends records.
“It is not positive at all to have to go through the knockout because we had to play 10 games to reach the last 16,” said Ancelotti.
“We are not coming out of a difficult period, we are entering one because that is when the real season begins. There is no way to stop, rest. But on an emotional level, of course, this draw has been good for us.
