'He was the only one' — Ancelotti singles out star for praise after Barcelona defeat

Real Madrid's head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, singled out striker Kylian Mbappe for praise following his side's shambolic showing in the 5-2 defeat to Barcelona. 

Real Madrid drew first blood through Kylian Mbappe's early strike, but Hansi Flick's Barcelona responded with a devastating counterpunch. 

The Catalans shifted into high gear, netting four goals before the break courtesy of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Alejandro Balde. They picked up where they left off after the restart, with Raphinha bagging his second goal to make it 5-1.

A glimmer of hope emerged for Carlo Ancelotti's side when Wojciech Szczęsny received his marching orders, and Rodrygo capitalised on the ensuing free kick to reduce the deficit to 5-2. 

However, the comeback bid ultimately fell short, and Barcelona emerged victorious in the Super Cup showdown.

A disappointed Ancelotti criticised his side's defending on the night, admitting that their opponents played better defensively. He then singled out Mbappe for praise, stating that the summer signing was the silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.  

“You have to defend well to win these games. Barcelona deserved to win; they defended better than us,” Carlo said. 

“The team is not looking good, but I’m not going to point the finger at anyone. Mbappé had a good game, he was probably the only one. He got a goal.

“I’m not going to name names on this, but we were not good from the first minute and did not perform.”