By the time Arda Guler slid on the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 63rd minute to cleanly nick the ball off of an opponent’s feet, Real Madrid were already in a good mood. Kylian Mbappe’s fifth-minute goal was merely the first of several goals they put past Monaco, the hosts up 4-0 when Guler intervened yards from the penalty area. The ball landed at Vinicius Junior’s feet, who balanced Guler’s grit in that moment for a demonstration of pure skill – he found space as not one, but two Monaco players struggled to keep him at bay and slot a tricky angular finish into the back of the net.
It was merely the latest in a game of impressive displays from Vinicius, who had two assists beforehand and was the star of the show as Los Blancos aimed to restore some normalcy after a chaotic few weeks (even if the drama was of the club’s own creation). In some ways, the eventual 6-1 drubbing of Monaco did exactly what it needed to in offering a semblance of a reminder that there’s room for Vinicius alongside Kylian Mbappe, as well as some of Madrid’s other stars.
Vinicius had as many goal contributions against Monaco as he did in his previous 11 matches for Real Madrid, undeniably a strong outing for an important player in a less-than-ideal run of form. The Brazil international was the standout but it was an outing defined by sharing the spotlight – he assisted Mbappe’s second with a simple but effective pass, and later was diligent enough to stay with the ball before setting up Franco Mastantuono for a close-range finish.
He mixed in a very public hug with new Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa, which may prove to be more memorable than the strong performance because of the narrative-driven cloud that always looms over the club (again, likely by their own creation). The disagreements between Vincius and ex-coach Xabi Alonso, whose ouster last week remains a topic of conversation, remains still top of mind because of his public display of professional affection for Arbeloa – but does not answer the question of where Los Blancos go from here.
Vinicius, Mbappe, Mastantuono and Guler successfully co-existed on Tuesday, again in a set-up where Mbappe was in a central role – much as Alonso preferred. Arbeloa has rotated through his options a bit in attack, giving Gonzalo Garcia the start over Mastantuono in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Levante but Guler and Mastantuono each had a notable cameo in the second half. There is a caveat to be made that three games is not much to judge a coach on, but he seems intent on finding a way to make Vinicius and Mbappe work together.
How exactly Arbeloa puts his spin on things is still a little bit unknown, though, just as is the ultimate question of how successful it will be. Finding the balance between all of Los Blancos’ stars was Alonso’s big task and even if the club’s higher-ups did not care for his solution, the question still needs to be answered by someone. Arbeloa’s star-focused strategy against Monaco may not be all that impressive, though, considering the fact that the Ligue 1 side are midtable as things stand and may not make it through to the Champions League knockouts depending on the final results of the league phase.
Truthfully, stiffer tests await Arbeloa’s Real Madrid. While there will be plenty of intrigue around their final league phase match at Benfica next week, where Arbeloa will face his former Madrid manager Jose Mourinho as the Portuguese side fight to advance to the next round, there is a fascinating matchup before that in Villarreal, who sit third place in LaLiga ahead of Saturday’s clash. There is no shame in Madrid taking all the victories they can but it will take more than Tuesday’s demolition of Monaco to erode skepticism that a lineup with Vinicius and Mbappe will be balanced enough to not only work on any given day, but can help them overtake Barcelona in league play and challenge for the Champions League.
Even as Vinicius provides Arbeloa – and Real Madrid’s leaders, by default – with a vote of confidence, there is still much they need to do to justify Alonso’s surprise firing, too.
