Real Madrid’s recent struggles had cast a shadow over Xabi Alonso’s long-term rebuilding vision. A trophyless campaign, inconsistent form, and painful defeats — including a loss in El Clasico and a shock result against a second-tier Spanish side — had raised serious doubts around the Bernabeu.
But on Tuesday night, the European giants roared back to life, dismantling Monaco 6-1 in a commanding Champions League display that reminded fans why they are known as the kings of the competition.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆,” 𝒂 𝒋𝒖𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆.
Mbappe and Vinicius Lead the Charge, Real Madrid
Alvaro Arbeloa’s men took control early at the Santiago Bernabeu. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a composed one-touch finish after a precise Federico Valverde pass. Monaco briefly threatened an equalizer, but missed chances proved costly.
Mbappe struck again soon after, slotting home his 11th Champions League goal of the season — a new personal best. Vinicius Junior, Franco Mastantuono, and Jude Bellingham added their names to the scoresheet, while Monaco also suffered an unfortunate own goal. Jordan Teze grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.
Real Madrid dominated the match with 53 percent possession and 23 shots, seven of them on target, compared to Monaco’s six on target from 18 attempts. Thibaut Courtois made key saves to keep the momentum firmly in Madrid’s favor.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚.
The win propels Real Madrid to second place in the Champions League standings with 15 points from seven matches, closing the gap on leaders Arsenal. Monaco, meanwhile, slips to 20th with nine points, left reeling from a night to forget at the Bernabeu.
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