Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City and discussed his team’s game against Leganés at the Municipal de Butarque stadium, on matchday 14 of LaLiga: “The team is doing well. Those who played for their national teams have returned in good shape and without issues. Those who have been here have worked well. We have to continue the good momentum from the last game.”
 
“It's the start of a very important cycle of matches and we want to start well. We're confident and I hope we can put in a good performance tomorrow. The idea is very clear: to put out the best team every game. I will do that tomorrow and also on Wednesday. We don't plan to change depending on the competition. Valverde playing at full-back and Asencio at centre-back is one option. There are other options that we have tested during this break. I'll try to choose the best possible option for the team.”
 
Playing time for academy players
“It's not difficult, it's pretty easy to choose. My responsibility is to put out the best possible team for every game. The youth team is a very important part of this club. I don't want to call into question the planning that has been carried out over the years. It's been very good in the last 10 years, considering that the youth academy is a very important part of it. Many home-grown players have been, are and will play in the first team. Giving them minutes is not the aim of this club. There have been a lot of players from the youth academy who haven't played in the first team. There are also some young players here that we're looking at who could be ready one day to play for Real Madrid.”
 
Mbappé
“He's had the opportunity to train and he's done well. I think his condition has improved and hopefully tomorrow he will be able to show all his qualities because there are many of them. I believe he's happy, calm and pleased to be here. I don't think he has any problems and I think it's wrong to speculate.”
 
Mbappé’s position
“He's never asked me for a position on the pitch. Obviously, he wants to be in the starting line-up, like everyone else. He and Vinicius don't have a fixed position on the pitch, they can change depending on the situation of the match.”
 
Mbappé’s motivation levels
“All strikers have had a bad spell. When strikers go through a bad patch, they get a bit frustrated, as is the case with Mbappé. But he's motivated and happy to train and to be with his teammates. I only see that, the spell is going to stop sooner or later. He's doing very well and I'm convinced that he'll have a great game tomorrow. This dry spell without scoring is going to end. It's just a question of time, he has enormous quality and he's going to show it.”
 
Asencio
“He's doing very well because he made his debut in the game against Osasuna and he did very well. He's prepared and physically ready to compete. He's upbeat and motivated. He is doing very well.”
 
Taking responsibility
“Some are taking more responsibility. I'm talking about Valverde, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Bellingham... I think this is a process that needs time. In this regard, we have lost the most important piece, which is Carvajal, but he's with us every day in the dressing room. The process of responsibility for the young players requires a bit of time. They realise that this is an important aspect and will try to make good progress quickly in this respect.”
 
Brahim
“He came back from injury very well. He used the break to play with Morocco's national team, managed to score and come back in an extraordinary condition. He's going to be very important for us because he can also play as a winger and help the midfield a lot. He's a very important player for us, as he was last year. I think he's going to be more important this year.”
 
Winter transfer window
“We'll see, we'll start talking about it after the last game against Sevilla on the 22nd. Then we'll consider what to do in the winter transfer window.”
 
Specific work during international break
“We focused the work on the defensive line because we had Asencio and Mendy and we tried out right-backs. Does Mbappé need offensive work? I don't think so. I don't have to teach him how to play as a striker. He can teach me and many others how a striker has to work.”