Madrid (Spain), Nov 23 (IANS ) It's been a troubling start to his life in Real Madrid colours for Kylian Mbappe as the striker has been under immense pressure to live up to the hype that surrounded his arrival at the club. With France head coach Didier Deschamps claiming Mbappe’s struggles can be attributed to ‘psychological’ factors, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has backed his striker to prove himself.
"I don't think so, I see him happy and happy to be here. Speculating on this seems too ugly to me," said Ancelotti in a press conference. "I see him motivated and happy to train with his teammates. The streak will stop sooner or later. Tomorrow he'll play a great game because it is only a time problem. He has a beastly quality and sooner or later he will prove it,” he added.
The 25-year-old has scored eight goals across all competitions this season and has not showcased the clinical self football fans have grown accustomed to.
With Mbappe being left out of the France squad in October and November, Deschamps revealed he believes ‘there is a physical and psychological element' that has led to the striker’s rough patch.
"It's a fact that he is in a difficult situation. Obviously, he is going through a period that is not the happiest of his career. He wanted to come, I think it's better for him [not to be selected] at the moment. Everybody can go through a difficult period. There is a physical element and a psychological one," Deschamps told broadcaster TF1.
The 25-year-old had missed out on France’s previous international break through a knee injury and was not called up for the games against Israel and Italy and has not scored a goal for Les Bleus since June.