Sports
couldn’t do any worse’ – Mbappe on his Real form
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe says a “mentality issue” prevented him from finding his best form earlier this season.
The France captain, 26, joined Real on a free transfer last June after leaving Paris St-Germain.
But he struggled in the early months following his move, at one point scoring just three times in 11 appearances.
That run included penalty misses against Liverpool in the Champions League and Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, with Madrid losing both matches.
Mbappe says he felt at “rock bottom” after those misses but a shift in his mindset has led to four goals in his past three appearances.
“I believe it was a mentality issue and that was a point I realised that I had to work harder,” said Mbappe.
“I was thinking too much about how to do things. Whether to go into space, whether to go to Vini’s [Vinicius Jr’s] area of the pitch, to Rodrygo’s area. When you overthink, you don’t focus on your game.
“I was fine physically and with the group but I knew I had to do more, that was the time to change the situation.
“I couldn’t do any worse, so when you hit rock bottom you can only go up.”
Since the defeat by Bilbao on 4 December, Mbappe has scored eight goals in 10 appearances in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed speculation that he has decided to leave the club at the end of the season.
“I will never decide to leave Real Madrid,” said the Italian.
“This day will come, but it won’t be me the one who decides. It could be tomorrow or in five years. The plan is to be here with Florentino [Perez] for another four years and say goodbye.”
Real, who are 20th in the 36-team Champions League table, take on Red Bull Salzburg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy will compete in this year’s Irish Open at the K-Club in County Kildare.
The Holywood player’s only success in his home tournament came at the same venue in 2016.
McIlroy produced a superb birdie-par-eagle finish in the final round to secure victory by three shots.
In September last year, the world number three finished second in the Irish Open at Royal County Down, one shot behind winner Rasmus Hoejgaard.
McIlroy will aim to double his tally of wins at the tournament from 3-7 September.
Gregor Townsend says Scotland “have to be able to cope with injuries” after losing Sione Tuipulotu for the Six Nations.
Rory Darge and Finn Russell will step in as co-captains with Tuipulotu to have pectoral muscle surgery. The Glasgow Warriors centre is expected back by the end of the domestic season, keeping his British and Irish Lions hopes alive.
“It’s more the blow for him,” said Townsend. “We really feel for him.
“We had three players that got injured and, when it’s so close to the tournament, it’s obviously really disappointing.
“For the team, you have to be able to cope with injuries. They’re going to happen leading up to a tournament, but also they’re going to happen within the tournament.”
Former Scotland defender Jen Beattie has announced her retirement after a successful 16-year career.
The 33-year-old ends her time at United States club Bay FC having previously spent nine years at Arsenal across two spells, making 166 appearances.
Beattie, who retired from international football in 2022, scored 24 goals in 143 games for Scotland and played at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
She says the “timing felt right” to retire, and hopes to do more broadcasting, having worked with BBC Sport and Sky Sports.
“I’m nervous, I’m excited and all the things, but I’m ready for what’s next,” she added.
“To be honest, I think it’s probably been on my mind for a couple of years now. It’s probably been on my mind even before I retired from Scotland.
“Since I’ve been doing the broadcasting a little bit more I’ve just had so much enjoyment from it.
“Leaving Arsenal at any point was always going to be hard. So it’s been on my mind for a while. Not being at my best anymore, I just felt like it was the right time.”
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