Sometimes football is a simple thing. You get booed before the match? You answer in a way that turns the whistling into applause and a soft “well, okay…”
That’s exactly what Real did: 6:1 at home against Monaco — no chances, no “almost,” no sense that Madrid had to suffer for the result.
And yes, Aleksandr Golovin’s team felt it in full: he spent 84 minutes on the pitch, but the match had long been running in “when will this end?” mode.
How it looked: fast, cold-blooded, too easy
Mbappé opened the scoring in the 5th minute — and it was one of those goals that says, “we’re not here to discuss today, we’re here to decide.”
A lovely move: Mastantuono → Valverde → Mbappé, a finish into the corner — 1:0. Kylian, by the way, celebrated as calmly as possible and even apologized to his former side.
Then it got even more telling: roughly 20 minutes later, Mbappé’s second goal — after a pass from Vinícius, and before that the attack flowed with pure style: Camavinga’s backheel, and Güler involved too. 2:0, and it was clear: Monaco wouldn’t be saved today by a plan or by discipline.
The visitors had one proper “bite” — Teze smashed one off the crossbar. But it was exactly the kind of moment where there’s a chance, and the feeling that it still won’t help is there too.
Second half: Real simply switched on “let’s add a few more” mode
After the break, Madrid didn’t play the “let’s hang on” game. They went to finish the job:
- 51st minute — Mastantuono scored from a Vinícius assist.
- five minutes later — an own goal by Thilo Kehrer: a low cross from Vinícius, Monaco’s captain tried to save it — and saved it into the wrong net.
- 63rd minute — Vinícius scored himself: he drove into the box and rifled it into the top corner.
And here came a very “Madrid” touch: Vinícius didn’t celebrate — he just hugged Álvaro Arbeloa. After the match, Arbeloa said it was a hug “for all Madridistas” — and that sounds logical, because the game really did look like therapy.
Monaco did manage to find a goal — Teze scored so the scoreline wouldn’t look like pure mockery. But Real didn’t even blink: Bellingham put the final stamp on it — 6:1.
Why it matters at all: Arbeloa’s debut, and an immediate sense the team became easier to read
You can write the score off as weak resistance. But something else was noticeable about Real today: structure.
What stood out:
- Camavinga on the left — but not as “just a left-back.”
He played a hybrid role: in possession, he often tucked inside next to Tchouaméni. It helped avoid being exposed after turnovers and gave balance, especially with both Bellingham and Güler starting.
- The penalty area was finally occupied.
On attacks, 3–4 players were crashing the box, and you could see it even in the first goal: Valverde rolled the ball across for Mbappé, and Valverde was essentially in the role of a right wing-back/wide player.
- Without the ball, Real defended narrow and deliberately gave up the flanks.
A risky move, but Arbeloa clearly read that Monaco, without classic wingers, would turn that into extra shifting, turnovers, and space for Real’s counterattacks.
In short: you shouldn’t turn this match into an icon — but the details of the plan were alive, not accidental.
Heroes of the night
Vinícius: 1+2.
He effectively held the entire tempo of the match in his hands: a goal, two assists (and one more low cross that became an own goal).
Mbappé: a brace.
And the main thing — he did it without nerves or drama. He simply did the job and moved on.
Vinícius now has 29 Champions League assists for Real. He’s two short of Cristiano’s club mark as an assister.
Mbappé has 11 goals in 7 Champions League matches in this campaign. And he became the fourth Real player with 10+ goals in a single Champions League season.
What’s next
In the Champions League, Real now have 16 points — that’s already a claim for a straight road to the round of 16. One trip remains, to Benfica — and that will be a very different conversation.
And in La Liga, there’s an important away match at Villarreal coming up: dropping points isn’t an option, because Barcelona are right there, and the season is sliding back into the familiar mode of “every match is an exam.”
But tonight was rare. It was a match where Real didn’t look like a team searching for itself, but like a team that remembered who it is.
