Carlo Ancelotti is confident Kylian Mbappe has now fully hit his stride after a difficult start to life at Real Madrid.

Mbappe netted his first hat-trick for Madrid during Saturday's 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.

That victory saw Madrid extend their lead at the summit of LaLiga to four points.

Since the start of December, Mbappe has been involved in 13 LaLiga goals, and Ancelotti is sure the former Paris Saint-Germain star is back to his best.

"Mbappe is bringing a lot to the team, he's been getting into a rhythm for a couple of months and, for the first time, he scored a hat-trick for us," said Ancelotti.

"Obviously, that's a plus for our team, he's a player of great quality.

"Little by little we've got into a good rhythm, we've got into a good dynamic and that's great to see.

"As I have been saying, we are improving in the aspects that undermined us in previous games. And we must continue as we try to improve and correct some of the problems we still have."

Though Madrid are sitting pretty at the top, Ancelotti warned there is a long road ahead as Los Blancos aim to defend their crown.

"We have to have a bit of balance and not get ahead of ourselves," the Italian added.

"It's true that we've done well in the league recently, we've got a good lead on top, but it's too early to think it's over.

"We have a small gap and hopefully we can make the most of it in the next few games."