Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid “are improving but are yet to show their best” as his side bid to earn automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16 against Ligue 1 club Brest on Wednesday.
The reigning champions of Europe are ensured of their place in at least the knockout play-off round as the league phase of the revamped Champions League wraps up with its final matchday this week.
However, after suffering three defeats in their opening seven matches, 16th-placed Real are only in with an outside chance of securing a top eight finish and automatic progression to the last 16.
A faltering start to the defence of their Spanish and Champions League titles now seems to be behind Ancelotti’s charges after they have won nine of their last 10 outings in all competitions.
“I think the team are improving but are yet to show their best, even though we’re getting close,” Ancelotti said during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“The idea and the vision that we have for this team, I think it’s clear to everyone and the team have improved collectively, but also individually.
“That’s the case for Kylian Mbappe, but also for Rodrygo (Goes) or (Jude) Bellingham and all the other players. They’ve all worked very hard.
“Kylian is playing very well. I think he just needed a little time to improve athletically and adapt to his new environment… Now we’re taking full advantage of having Mbappe with us and the qualities he can bring to the team.”
Criticised for his performances at the start of the season following his long-awaited transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, France captain Mbappe has got among the goals as Madrid surged to the top of La Liga over the winter.
The 26-year-old has 21 goals in 31 matches for Real, eight of which have come in January.
Los Blancos sit only one point outside of the top eight but seven teams are currently between them and eighth-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
One of these sides are Wednesday’s opposition Brest, who have impressed on their European debut, with four wins from seven so far.
“Brest have done an excellent job in this Champions League,” said Ancelotti.
“They have a point more than us… It’s no coincidence that they took 13 points in the first phase.
“They are a very good team who know how to take advantage of the qualities of their players,” added the veteran Italian.
– ‘Don’t stand a chance’ –
Brest are also assured of progression to the knock-outs, something their coach described as “difficult to imagine” when the Breton outfit got their campaign underway with a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in neighbouring Guingamp as their own stadium is not up to UEFA requirements.
“If someone had told us… that Real Madrid would be behind us (now), we would have believed that even less,” added Brest coach Eric Roy during his press conference on Tuesday.
“We got off to a good start in the competition, while Real were perhaps in a period where they were a little less good.
“We saw them lose in Lille (1-0), we saw them lose at home to AC Milan (3-1).
“We managed to over-perform, they may have under-performed, and that’s certainly why today we have a
point more than them.”
The Frenchman promised his side would look to be proactive against their fancied opponents.
“We’ll have to play, but when I say play, I mean really play, in other words be capable of causing problems for our opponents,” said Roy.
“The fantastic thing about football is that it’s still the sport where the favourite doesn’t always win.
“It’s obvious that if you look at the stats, if you look at the budget, if you look at the fixture list, if you look at the squad, you can tell yourself that you don’t stand a chance.
“But in football, you can be inferior and still win games. It doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.”
