‘Real can cover Mbappe’s absence in derby’

Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team will be able to cope without injured star signing Kylian Mbappe in Sunday's La Liga visit to rivals Atletico Madrid.
Los Blancos take on their rivals without the French forward, ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. The Spanish champions are second, four points behind leaders Barcelona and two ahead of third-place Atletico.

"Obviously, playing without Mbappe changes things a bit, but not much," Ancelotti told reporters Saturday. "We're used to playing without him because last year he wasn't here. It's a pity that he's not here but his absence we can cover for well."

Real Madrid still have plenty of attacking options including Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes and potential Ballon d'Or winner Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian has burst into form in recent weeks and is set to lead the charge against Diego Simeone's side, though, some Atletico fans are threatening to knock him off his stride by racially abusing him. This week a Mallorca fan was sentenced to a year in prison for abusing the forward and he has also suffered similar abuse on previous visits to Atletico's Metropolitano stadium.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever