Kylian Mbappé admitted he is now close to his best after scoring twice in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Las Palmas on Sunday, saying "I've adapted to the team now, and I can play as I want."
Madrid went behind inside the first minute at the Bernabéu, before Mbappé responded from the penalty spot, Brahim Díaz added a second, and Mbappé scored a third, and had another goal disallowed for offside.
Rodrygo made it 4-1 in the second half, while Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde both had goals ruled out by VAR, as Madrid went two points clear at the top of LaLiga.
"I'm really happy," Mbappé told Real Madrid TV, when asked about the Bernabéu crowd chanting his name during the game. "I've adapted to the team now and I can play as I want, with my teammates, with personality. We're all enjoying it."
Mbappé faced criticism for his form earlier in the season, but has now scored 18 goals in all competitions, including four in his last three appearances this week.
Madrid's comeback win saw them take advantage of slip-ups from Atletico Madrid -- who lost 1-0 at Leganés -- and Barcelona, who drew 1-1 at Getafe.
"It was an important game, we knew what had happened yesterday, with Atletico and Barcelona," Mbappé said. "We wanted to win, and we did. We started badly... but the reaction was 'top'.
"We were on the front foot, playing fast, attacking the spaces with quality. We scored a lot of goals. We're happy, because we're leaders."
The win over Las Palmas was a convincing response to losing 5-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final, and needing extra time to beat Celta Vigo in midweek in the Copa del Rey.
"I'm proud of [the team's] reaction," Mbappé said. "Losing the Supercopa was tough, and although we played well in the cup, we made mistakes and went to extra time. But we had the personality to win. Today was very important. Now we depend on ourselves to win the league."
Coach Carlo Ancelotti suggested criticism of Madrid's form has been excessive.
"I'm still a bit confused," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "There are days when we've played very badly, but what I see is that Madrid are leaders. I'll keep studying, to see if I'm mistaken."
"There's criticism and then there's criticism," Ancelotti added. "Whistles from the Bernabéu hurt, and motivate us. It was a useful wake-up call."
Ancelotti praised Mbappé as "the best centre forward in the world."
"People doubted if he could play there," he said. "He's a great forward, who feels comfortable in the middle. His movement is unique, and playing inside, he can make the most of it."