(Reuters) – Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti was overjoyed with Kylian Mbappe’s first hat-trick for the club as they beat bottom side Real Valladolid 3-0 away on Saturday to extend their lead atop LaLiga to four points.
Ancelotti said he was delighted about the France striker’s inspired form, with eight goals in their last five games in all competitions and finally looking like his old self, giving Real even more firepower in an already stacked attack.
“Mbappe is bringing a lot to the team, he’s been getting into a rhythm for a couple of months and today, for the first time, he scored a hat-trick for us.
“Obviously that’s a plus for our team, he’s a player of great quality,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“Little by little we’ve got into a good rhythm, we’ve got into a good dynamic and that’s great to see.
“As I have been saying, we are improving in the aspects that undermined us in previous games. And we must continue as we try to improve and correct some of the problems we still have.”
Real lead the standings with 49 points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who slipped further behind after a 1-1 draw against Villarreal.
They are followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points, but both with a game in hand, followed by Villarreal.
Ancelotti seemed unfazed by Real’s lead, though, saying there was still a long road ahead in their title defence.
“We have to have a bit of balance and not get ahead of ourselves,” the Italian added.
“It’s true that we’ve done well in the league recently, we’ve got a good lead on top, but it’s too early to think it’s over. We have a small gap and hopefully we can make the most of it in the next few games.”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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