Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti praised his striker Kylian Mbappe after marking a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory against Manchester City on Wednesday who took the Champions League holders in the last 16.
Ancelotti said Mbappe had the potential to reach the same level as the big club Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the top scorer of all time with 451 goals in 438 games for the winners of the 15 -time Champions League.
“He has the quality to reach his figures, but he has to work, because Cristiano has put the bar very high, but it is so excited to play here, he can reach the level of Cristiano,” said Ancelotti during a press conference.
“Everyone was waiting for this hat-trick and he finally arrived. But Mbappe is not the only one, we have many players who make the difference. And they make a difference with their collective work above their individual quality , which is remarkable.
Ancelotti deplored that his side had to go through the pain of the Tour with direct elimination, but said that they were to blame after a slow start of the campaign which led them to end outside the top eight of the classification of the league.
Holders will face Bayer Leverkusen or City Rivals Atletico Madrid, according to the draw on Friday draw, while looking for a 16th record title.
“It is not at all positive to go through the blow because we had to play 10 games to reach the last 16,” said Ancelotti.
“We do not come out of a difficult period, we are entering one because that’s when the real season begins. We.
