'I do not judge a player on one penalty' - Carlo Ancelotti refuses to point the finger at Kylian Mbappe as Real Madrid struggles continue

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has asked the fans to continue to show patience with the underperforming Kylian Mbappe and claimed that he won't judge him on the basis of whether he scores penalties or not. Madrid slumped to their fifth loss in the last 11 games as Mbappe's penalty was saved by Athletic Club goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala on Wednesday night.

Mbappe missed his second penalty in as many attempts in the span of one week. Last week, in a crunch Champions League fixture against Liverpool at Anfield, Mbappe's lack of confidence got the better of him as his penalty was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. On Wednesday night, the pattern continued. Real Madrid were trailing 1-0 in the 68th minute, when the Frenchman had the perfect opportunity to allow his team to wrestle the initiative and get momentum in their favour. However, he took a similar penalty and Agirrezabala had little problems in saving Mbappe's shy effort.

Ancelotti has been under severe pressure in recent weeks. Madrid's Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread and the loss to Athletic Club has allowed Barcelona to regain more ground in the LaLiga title race. Mbappe's unconvincing displays have somewhat hurt the team, but Ancelotti backed the forward and asked for patience.

"He missed the penalty, but I can't be assessing the game on the basis of one penalty because you might score, or not," Ancelotti told reporters after the game. "Mbappe is upset, he's disappointed but we have to keep going. He’s not at his best level, but you have to give him time to adapt. He’s scored 10 goals and he’s working to do better.”

Real Madrid's next fixture is a tricky game away at Girona, who are currently in eighth position in LaLiga. The game will take place on Saturday, December 7, before Ancelotti's troops visit Italy to take on an Atalanta side in red-hot form on Tuesday, December 10.