A result which causes the reigning champion to lose ground in the title race after Barça’s convincing victory in Mallorca 24 hours earlier.
It was costly mistakes that cost Real Madrid the victory at San Mamés. Federico Valverde gifted Gorka Guruzeta the winning goal, while Kylian Mbappé missed his second consecutive penalty with the score at 1-0. According to Diario AS, Carlo Ancelotti defended the latter after new criticism.
“I didn’t speak to Mbappé. It was a complicated, balanced, fierce and competitive match. When we equalized, it looked like we were in control and small details cost us dearly tonight. We missed the penalty…I don’t have to evaluate a player’s play because of a penalty that is sometimes scored and sometimes missed. Obviously he is sad, disappointed, but we must continue.
“Not at his best”
“He is not at his best level, but we have to give him time to adapt. He has scored 10 goals and is working to do better. »
Ancelotti also clarified the situation with penalty takers at Real Madrid following the incident. “Vinicius has generally taken a lot of penalties and all of them are good. Those who take the penalties are three in number: Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius. »
