Real Madrid destroy Monaco in Alvaro Arbeloa’s European debut

Real Madrid knew that they needed a fast start against AS Monaco to tranquilise a tense Bernabeu that showed their frustration at the weekend, and not only did they get a swift beginning, but kept the tempo high and the goals flowing all evening. Los Blancos have all but secured a spot in the Round of 16 as a seeded team in the top eight.

After just five minutes, Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring. Neat interplay between Franco Mastantuono and Fede Valverde down the right set him up on the edge of the box for a free shot, which he slotted into the corner. Real Madrid were playing high tempo and leaving Vinicius Junior and Mbappe wide and high for the counter-attack, which continued to hurt the French side.

Monaco were causing issues of their own though, with Ansu Fati alone in the penalty spot, but unable to connect cleanly with a free shot on the penalty spot. The Real Madrid press was intense but sporadic in the middle third, and Monaco were able to play through it with relative ease. Folarin Balogun was also given a chance just inside the area, but could not beat Thibaut Courtois .

– Tuesday, 20 January 2026

The best goal of the match swung things firmly in Real Madrid’s favour though just before the half-hour mark. Eduardo Camavinga was found just inside the left side by Vinicius, and his genius flick inside to Arda Guler opened things up. The Turkish starlet played it first time into the path of the sprinting Vinicius in the left channel, who found Mbappe with an open net, splitting defence and goalkeeper with an outside of the foot pass across the box. He did not celebrate his 11th in six games in the Champions League against his former side.

Monaco continued to cause issues before the break, with Magnes Akiouche volleying a loose ball into the ground, but Courtois was wise to it. Jordan Teze then cracked the bar with a wonderful effort from distance, this time Courtois beaten.

Image via Sport.

The second half very quickly became a procession, as Real Madrid ripped open the opposition defence, the third goal coming six minutes after the break. Dani Ceballos stepped into midfield off the bench, Raul Asencio off and Aurelien Tchouameni in defence, winning the ball back. Vinicius held the ball on the edge of the box, before sliding it right to Mastantuono, who found the far corner with his right. In doing so, he became Real Madrid’s youngest scorer in the Champions League.

Five minutes later, Ceballos again found Vinicius on the left side, and another outside of the foot ball between the goalkeeper and defence was turned in by Thilo Kehrer for Vinicius’ third assist of the game. He would get his own goal after 65 minutes, driving past two defenders from left to right, before firing into the near top corner before the goalkeeper could get near it.

Monaco did finally get on the scoresheet with 15 minutes remaining, although very much by Real Madrid’s design. As Courtois, Tchouameni and then Ceballos popped it around their own box, the latter’s flick went straight to Teze, who had an easy finish to reduce the gap. The game was open and loose now, with Monaco constantly giving the ball away to the Real Madrid midfield. Valverde’s pass, a second assist for the Uruguayan, found Jude Bellingham through on goal this time, who rounded the goalkeeper, and slotted home to complete the rout.

– Tuesday, 20 January 2026

Although the first half saw Monaco cut through Real Madrid with as much ease as Los Blancos did the Monegasques, the second will have been a delight to watch for Arbeloa. His side squeezed on Monaco time and again to win the ball back in dangerous areas, and once they did so, Real Madrid looked as fluid and as lethal as they did during his playing days. It will not be lost on the Bernabeu nor Arbeloa that all three of the players most virulently targeted by the whistles on Saturday – Bellingham, Valverde and Vinicius – responded with performances .

In terms of what it means logistically, Real Madrid have for now moved to second in the table on 15 points, with a goal difference of +11. It puts them in a commanding position going into the final game of the league phase, and will be guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 with a bye if they beat Benfica in their final game. Monaco slip to 20th position, with a two-point gap to 25th.