MADRID — With three assists and a goal, Vinícius Júnior silenced the fans on Tuesday who had booed him again at the start of the match in which Real Madrid ended up beating Monaco 6-1 in the Champions League.
Part of the crowd at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium booed the Brazilian striker almost every time he touched the ball early in the match in Madrid. The signs of rejection dissipated as the match progressed and practically disappeared when Vinícius scored his first goal this season in the Champions League in the 63rd minute.
The initial boos were not as loud as in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Levante in the Spanish league. On both occasions, the fans whistled when Vinícius’ name was announced in the starting line-up, but this time the match ended with the fans siding with the player who was chosen as the man of the match.
Kylian Mbappá celebrates with his teammates after scoring Real Madrid’s first goal in the 6-1 victory over Monaco in the Champions League, Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
(Jose Breton/AP)
Vinícius has had a gray season and some fans saw him as one of the reasons why coach Xabi Alonso was replaced last week.
The Brazilian confronted the former Madrid and Spanish national team star. Alonso was replaced as strategist after a chaotic eight-month period.
Vinícius was reportedly the main player who did not support Alonso in the locker room.
Vinícius scored on Tuesday with a well-placed shot after beating a pair of defenders and shooting into the top corner. He didn’t head toward the fans to celebrate, but instead hugged his teammates near midfield and then ran to the sideline to greet and hug new Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
He also assisted on Kylian Mbappé’s goals in the 26th minute and Franco Mastantuono in the 51st minute. The Brazilian also assisted with a cross that led to an own goal by Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer in the 55th minute.
“Vini, we are with you,” said a banner held by a fan at the Bernabéu.
Mbappé scored in the fifth minute to put the hosts ahead. He hugged Vinícius after his second goal in the first half, and again after the final whistle.
Mbappé and Arbeloa had recently come out in defense of Vinícius. Mbappé said the public should not point to Vinícius as the culprit for the team’s difficulties.
Many fans applauded an attempt by Vinícius in the seventh minute, which narrowly missed from inside the area. At 40, when he misplayed a ball, some of the fans began to boo again, but many more applauded in response.
There were no immediate boos towards the club president, Florentino Pérez, as had happened against Levante.
Mbappé appeared to apologize to fans of Monaco, his former team, after scoring. The Frenchman has 18 Champions League goals for Madrid, the most of any player in his first 20 appearances for the club, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 14.
Jude Bellingham, who was also booed by some fans on Saturday, scored Madrid’s sixth goal in the 80th.
Vinícius came close to scoring again on a counterattack in second-half stoppage time.
Madrid came into the game against Levante after a streak of two consecutive losses that included the defeat in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia against Barcelona, which led to the departure of Alonso, and an embarrassing elimination against Albacete in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
A minute’s silence was held before the match in honor of the victims of the train crash that killed more than 40 people in southern Spain on Sunday.
