Real Madrid v Monaco, Getty Images January 21, 2026, 12:04 AM

Real Madrid have been in the spotlight since the departure of Xabi Alonso, as they are still trying to figure out whether Alvaro Arbeloa can bring the team back to life as head coach. And then there was an excellent opportunity in the “Blancos” calendar in the form of a home match of UEFA champions Lina against the French Monaco, which is in the domestic arena in, to put it mildly, not the best form. Seven defeats in the last eight matches of the championship – with such results, everyone has already forgotten about the victory over PSG itself at the end of November.

It is clear that under such circumstances Real and only Real could be the clear favorite in the home game, which Arbeloa’s team set out to prove from the first minutes. Especially since the opponents tried to impose football on the opposing courses almost immediately, so there was plenty of space for the fast players of Madrid. Mastantuono took advantage of one of these episodes in the fifth minute, when he ran away on the right flank and returned the ball to Valverde in the penalty area, who then rolled under Mbappe’s shot.

After that, Sebatien Poconioli’s side did find their moment at the other end, but Fati squandered the opportunity in the center of Courtois’ possession, firing wide of the plane to finish off a cross from the left wing. But when Teze fired his long-range shot into the crossbar of Real Madrid’s goal in the middle of the second half, his team was already two goals down at that moment. In the 26th minute, Güler launched Vinicius on the left flank of someone else’s free kick, and he shot at an empty Mbappe.

Monaco’s adventurous play until the end of the first half did not lead to anything in terms of the score, while after the break, the French team immediately conceded a couple more goals, after which the question of the winner of the pair was automatically removed. First, Vinicius helped Mastantuono score with a long-range shot on the right flank of the penalty box, and then the Brazilian indirectly assisted Carrera, who converted his cross from the left side of the attack into his own goal.

Real did not stop there and continued to put pressure on the opponents, and they continued to make mistakes in response. Ceballos managed to take advantage of this twice, whose interceptions in the opponent’s half ended in shots by the same Vinicius and Bellingham at the end of the match. But the midfielder managed to score even near his own goal, so Teze at least managed to score a prestige ball for Monaco. Because otherwise, she would have gone back to the principality with Kyon, who conceded more goals than the opponents scored in this game.

In the next round, Real Madrid will visit Benfica of Lisbon, and Monaco of France will host Juventus of Turin.