Carlo Ancelotti says Kylian Mbappe facing a 'crisis of confidence'

When Real Madrid finally secured the signing of Kylian Mbappe, it seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle in Madrid's quest of cementing their status as the best team in Europe for years to come.

Four months in to the season, domestically and abroad, they're looking anything but.

Life at Real Madrid has not gone according to plan for Mbappe and the latest debacle came in Los Blancos 2-0 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool. With no Vinicius Junior and no Rodrygo, Mbappe was given the rare opportunity of being the focal point in the attack as well as playing in his preferred position on the left.

Instead of putting in a performance, he had one of his worst showings since joining the side, misplaying a number of easy passes that led to Liverpool attacks. One of them resulted in the penalty that Mohamed Salah ultimately missed.

Speaking of penalties, the horror night culminated in Mbappe missing a penalty that would have brought the game level despite Liverpool's dominance. His reaction after the penalty save spoke a thousand words.

"It happens a lot with forwards; there are times when it's hard for them to score," Ancelotti said. "There's a cure, and it's patience. It's a difficult moment for him, above all today, with the missed penalty. Everyone has to support him.

"It could be a lack of confidence. Sometimes, when you have a moment when things aren't going well, the idea is to play simply, and you can complicate things a bit. He's scored a lot of penalties. Sometimes you can miss one."

Mbappe is dealing with a number of things outside the pitch that are likely contributing to his mind being somewhere else. However, he hasn't looked comfortable since arriving and patience among the Madrid faithful is quickly running out.

Jude Bellingham quickly went to Mbappe after the miss to try to lift his spirits. His teammates after the match, including Luka Modric, offered their words of support as well.

"He looks good to us, he's training well, he's confident," midfielder Luka Modric said. "Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. Today it didn't, above all with the penalty, but we believe in him. Kylian will do what's expected of him, for sure."

There's plenty of blame to go around regarding Madrid's struggles both in La Liga and the Champions League. Mbappe is one of them but he's far from the only thing. Injuries have played their roles but you expect more from Mbappe who is one of the best players in the world.

Real Madrid need him to get things going considering they sit 24th in the Champions League. If they were to fall one spot lower, they'd be out of the competition altogether. Things won't get any easier next time as their opponent is Atalanta who sit fifth and are one of the revelations of the tournament.