Mbappe, Real Madrid’s biggest signing in years, has yet to score in the Spanish top flight this season. His only goal for his new club came in the UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta earlier this month.

Kylian Mbappe remained goalless as champions Real Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw at Las Palmas in their third round La Liga game on Thursday. Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted his unbalanced side must improve quickly to right the course of a season that has gone awry.

Kylian Mbappe remained goalless as champions Real Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw at Las Palmas.

Mbappe, Real Madrid’s biggest signing in years, has yet to score in the Spanish top flight this season. His only goal for his new club came in the UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta earlier this month. On Thursday, Vinicius Junior scored for Real Madrid from a 69th-minute penalty after a handball in the box to draw 1-1.

Real Madrid bҽαt Valladolid 3-0 in the previous round, but opened their title defence with a 1-1 draw at Mallorca. After drawing twice in three games, the champions are now four points behind Barcelona, ​​the only team to have won all their games this season. “It’s difficult for us to be as solid as last season,” said Real Madrid coach Ancelotti. “We need to find a solution quickly and I think we will. It’s more difficult than expected. These first three games have shown me a lot of things that haven’t worked.”

Mbappe played the full 90 minutes – with nine shots, two of them on target – but failed to score for the third game in a row. “It was a bad first half,” admitted Ancelotti. “We struggled to score. We had to hold on, endure a little bit. The team was not balanced, we did not pass the ball quickly. We struggled to win the ball back. That happened in the draw with Mallorca. I don’t see any improvement. We have to find improvement quickly, and I believe we will find it soon.”

Coach Carlo Ancelotti admits his unbalanced team needs to improve quickly.

Ancelotti made four changes to his team against Las Palmas, with Lucas Vazquez, Ferland Mendy, Luka Modric and Brahim Diaz coming on, but there was no significant improvement. “The game was slow, there was not much movement and without the ball, it was difficult for us to be compact,” said Ancelotti. “We left gaps between the lines. The problem is clear, we have to find a solution… When there is a problem, the coach has to take responsibility.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, the Italian coach has again stressed that Real Madrid will not be looking to strengthen before the transfer window closes on Friday, saying “the squad is closed”. Real Madrid next welcome Real Betis on Sunday, before travelling to Real Sociedad after the September international break.

Home side Las Palmas took the lead after just five minutes when Alberto Moleiro bҽαt a couple of Real Madrid defenders before scoring from inside the box. However, the draw means Las Palmas are yet to win this season, having drawn with Sevilla and lost to Leganes in their opening two games.

Elsewhere. Girona, who were the surprise package last season after finishing third, got their first win with a thumping 4-0 home win over Osasuna. Bryan Gil scored in the first half, then Viktor Tsygankov, Abel Ruiz and Cristhian Stuani sealed the win in the second half. Girona opened with a draw and a loss. Osasuna had a draw and a win in their first two games.