Vinicius Junior was in scintillating form as Real Madrid celebrated a 6-1 victory over AS Monaco in what was Alvaro Arbeloa’s first UCL game in charge.
Mbappe wasted no time igniting the contest, sweeping home his tenth goal of the competition with just his second touch in the fifth minute. AS Monaco barely laid a glove on Real Madrid early on, and Ansu Fati was left to rue a glaring miss from point-blank range.
That let-off came back to haunt the visitors on 25 minutes. Folarin Balogun’s failed attempt to keep the ball in play sparked a lightning Real Madrid break, finished when Vinicius Junior bent a sumptuous outside-of-the-boot cross onto Mbappe’s foot to make it 2-0.
Monaco briefly threatened a response, with Jordan Teze crashing an effort off the crossbar before Maghnes Akliouche and Balogun tested Real Madrid stopper Thibaut Courtois before the interval.
In the second stanza, Real Madrid ended the contest in a six-minute second-half blitz. Franco Mastantuono swept in first time from yet another Vinicius Junior assist, before the Brazilian’s low cross forced Thilo Kehrer into an own goal.
Chances rained in from Federico Valverde, Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham, before Vinicius Junior stole the show by smashing a beauty into the top corner.
A sloppy Dani Ceballos error gifted Jordan Teze a consolation and spoiled Courtois’ clean sheet, but there was still time for Jude Bellingham to twist the knife, rounding Philipp Kohn and tapping into an empty net.
The result fires Los Blancos up to second place, while AS Monaco slumped to 21st and are staring elimination squarely in the face.
Speaking to the press after the match, Bellingham was full of praise for the electric Vinicius Junior.
“He was really sharp, looked dangerous every time he had the ball, created loads,” said the Englishman.
“I think he’s a player who thrives when he gets love. You could see today when the kind of atmosphere changed towards him. He goes up leaps and bounds in his game and becomes so much more joyful to watch and to play with.
“I think that’s the pressure that the kind of whistles put on a player. But now it seems like he’s free from those shackles a little bit and hopefully he can continue.”
