Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe hugs Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti during the UEFA Super Cup football match between Real Madrid and Atalanta BC in Warsaw, on August 14, 2024.AFP
The France captain scored on his long-awaited first Madrid appearance as Los Blancos beat Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old striker, who arrived at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, was not at his best but finished lethally after Fede Valverde sent the reigning Spanish and European champions ahead.
"Mbappe is an extraordinary talent, we have to help him adapt as quickly as possible," Ancelotti told a news conference Saturday ahead of the team's opening La Liga clash.
"He has started well in the dressing room, very focussed, with humility."
Mbappe was asked if he was planning to score 50 goals this season after the Super Cup triumph and the forward said there was "no limit" to what he might achieve.
Ancelotti said he was avoiding setting a target for the former PSG hitman, whose arrival at his dream club Madrid was years in the making.
"I will never tell a player how many goals he has to score, what I ask of them is to give everything they have for the team, nothing more," added the Italian coach.
"Everybody has their qualities, whether they are technical, tactical or motivational, and have to harness them for the team."
Ancelotti suggested this season he would give players more time off for holidays during the campaign, with the expanded Club World Cup set to be played next summer.
"The players need to rest, they need holidays, we're thinking about giving individual holidays to some players," added Ancelotti.
"A player might not play for a week and go to rest with their family, above all with the internationals, who have very little rest... we're looking at it with the medical and fitness teams."
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: