What was Kylian Mbappe thinking?! Motivation behind Real Madrid superstar's red-card horror tackle revealed as attacker apologises to rival

Mbappe was sent off against Alaves after a brutal, high challenge on Antonio Blanco. Referee Cesar Soto Grado initially brandished a yellow card but VAR intervened, and after reviewing the footage on the pitch-side monitor, Grado upgraded the punishment to a sending off. Ancelotti has explained that Mbappe is remorseful and was likely motivated by the 'small fouls' against him, while The Athletic reports that he sought out Blanco after the game to apologise, having done so to his team-mates too.

Mbappe could now be banned for up to three games but the expectation is that he will be suspended for one or two. That would rule him out of games against Athletic Club and Getafe. The report claims that Madrid accept the decision, but The Athletic quotes sources who have indicated that they are frustrated that VAR was not deployed as effectively against Espanyol. In that game, Carlos Romero was booked for a foul on Mbappe and Real believe the punishment should have been upgraded to a sending off.

Davide Ancelotti was standing in for his father, Carlo, who was suspended due to yellow card accumulation. He said: “I haven’t spoken to him. First of all, we have to say that Mbappe is not violent, he has asked for forgiveness, he is aware of what he has done.

“It’s a red card and he paid for it. Surely the many small fouls made him react like that. It’s not the way to react but surely what happened.”

Mbappe will aim to put his sending off behind him against Arsenal in their second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in midweek. Madrid trail 3-0 after a disastrous first leg.