Luka Modric delivers brutally honest verdict about Kylian Mbappe’s penalty miss as he sends public message to misfiring Real Madrid star after Liverpool nightmare

Modric captained Los Blancos for their trip to Anfield on Wednesday night in the Champions League but it was a match the Croatian will want to forget quickly. Mbappe's decisive penalty miss at 1-0 down proved costly and while the midfielder admits it was a huge chance in the match, he has no doubts his French team-mate will step up and deliver in crucial moments eventually.

Speaking after the game, Modric said: "We had the penalty that could have changed the game and we didn’t take advantage of it and with the score at 2-0 we were almost lost."

The 39-year-old added: "We see him [Mbappe] doing well, training well and with confidence. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t, especially with the penalty. We have confidence in him and we’re sure he’ll do very well."

If Madrid are to retain their European crown, they are going to need more from their summer signing. With just one goal in four Champions League games for the 25-year-old, Mbappe is way below his usual standards. He is capable of performing on the big stage but must get over the reality that he is not the focal point of his new team while discovering a way to work seamlessly as either a winger or striker under Carlo Ancelotti.

The Spanish giants remain outside of the play-off places in the Champions League standings. With three games left to go, they need to start winning games if they are to have any chance of playing for a place in the knockout rounds of Europe's elite competition. They face Atalanta, RB Salzburg and Brest in their remaining fixtures.