Carlo Ancelotti shares what he expects from Kylian Mbappe after he matches Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has backed Kylian Mbappe to become a legend at the club after he matched Cristiano Ronaldo's goal tally from his debut season. The Frenchman bagged a brace during Madrid's 3-2 comeback win over Leganes on Saturday (March 30).
Mbappe gave his side the lead in the 32nd minute with a Panenka penalty. Leganes turned the tie around with two goals in eight minutes to lead 2-1 at halftime. However, Carlo Ancelotti's side responded in the second half as Jude Bellingham restored parity two minutes after the break before Mabppe netted the winner off a free kick in the 76th minute.
Despite the slow start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, the former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star now has 33 goals and four assists in 44 matches this season. Mbappe has now matched Ronaldo's debut season goal tally with Los Blancos. The Portuguese legend registered 33 goals and 10 assists in 35 matches across competitions during the 2009-10 campaign.
Reacting to Kylian Mbappe's recent milestone, Ancelotti backed the French forward to match more of Cristiano Ronaldo's record at the club. He believes that the 26-year-old has the quality and can become a legend at Real Madrid.
“I wish Mbappé to match Cristiano’s numbers at Real Madrid for a long time, of course. He has the quality to make it happen, I hope so as he’d become a legend of this club. Kylian can do it," Ancelotti said ( as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X).
With many games to play this season, Kylian Mbappe is most likely to overtake Ronaldo's debut season goal records at Madrid. He could also set the record for most goals by a Madrid player in their debut season. The current record holder Ivan Zamorano netted 37 times during the 1992-93 campaign.
Kylian Mbappe reacts after equaling Cristiano Ronaldo's tally at Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe was excited after helping Real Madrid to a 3-2 win over Legnes and equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's debut-season record in the process. Speaking after the game, the Frenchman told Real Madrid TV (via NDTV Sports):
"It's very special... to have the same number of goals as Cristiano is always good. We know what he means for Real Madrid and me, we speak, he gives me a lot of advice, he scored many goals - but we have to win trophies here."
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 450 goals and provided 131 assists in 438 matches for Los Blancos, becoming the club's all-time scorer in the process. He won 15 major titles with the Spanish giants during his nine years at the club.
