LaLiga English

Ancelotti stresses that struggling Madrid must improve fast

Carlo Ancelotti said his team “must find an improvement fast” after their drab 1-1 draw at Las Palmas left them four points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona at the top of the table.

Alberto Moleiro put Las Palmas ahead in the fifth minute, and Vinicius Junior levelled with a second-half penalty, as Madrid were held for the second time in three league games, following their opening 1-1 draw at Mallorca

Kylian Mbappé played the full 90 minutes – taking nine shots, two of them on target, for an xG (expected goals) of 0.51 – but was unable to score for the third game in a row.

“It was a bad first half,” Ancelotti admitted in his post-match news conference. “It was hard for us to find the goal. We had to hang on, suffer a bit.

“The team wasn’t balanced, we weren’t moving the ball quickly. It was hard for us to win the ball back. Everything that happened [in the draw] against Mallorca. I didn’t see an improvement in the team. We must find an improvement fast, and I think we’ll find it.”