01/20/26 04:26:00
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01/20 16:24 CST Vincius wins over fans with 3 assists and a goal in Real
Madrid's 6-1 rout of Monaco
Vincius wins over fans with 3 assists and a goal in Real Madrid's 6-1 rout of
Monaco
By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer
MADRID (AP) --- With three assists and a goal, Vincius Jnior quieted the fans
who had booed him again at the start of Real Madrid's 6-1 rout over Monaco in
the Champions League on Tuesday.
Part of Santiago Bernabeu Stadium crowd jeered the Brazil forward nearly every
time he touched the ball early on in the league-phase game in Madrid, but the
boos dissipated as the match went on and were virtually gone by the time
Vincius scored his first Champions League goal of the season in the 63rd
minute.
The early boos were not nearly as loud as they were Saturday in Madrid's 2-0
win over Levante in the Spanish league. Both times fans jeered when Vincius'
name was announced in the starting lineup, but this time the game ended with
fans on Vincius' side as he was chosen the man of the match.
Vincius has been having a lackluster season and some fans viewed him as one of
the reasons why coach Xabi Alonso was replaced last week.
Vincius had spats with Alonso, a former Madrid and Spain great as a player who
was replaced as a coach following a tumultuous eight-month stint. Vincius was
reportedly the main player not backing Alonso in the locker room.
Vincius scored his goal on Tuesday with a well-placed strike after getting
past a couple of defenders and hitting the upper corner. He did not go toward
the fans to celebrate, and instead hugged his teammates near midfield and then
ran toward the sideline to salute and hug new Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
Vincius has assists in goals by Kylian Mbapp in the 26th and Franco
Mastantuono in the 51st. The Brazilian also assisted with a cross that led to
an own-goal by Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer in the 55th.
"Vini, we are behind you," read a banner held by a fan at the Bernabeu.
Mbapp scored in the fifth minute to put the hosts ahead. He hugged Vincius
after his second goal later in the first half --- and again following the final
whistle.
Mbapp and Arbeloa had come out defending Vincius recently, with Mbapp saying
the crowd shouldn't single out Vincius as the one to blame for the team's
struggles.
Many fans applauded a seventh-minute attempt by Vincius, who just missed wide
from inside the area. When he misplayed a ball in the 40th, some of the fans
started to boo again but many more applauded in response.
There were no immediate jeers toward club president Florentino Prez like it
had happened against Levante.
Mbapp appeared to apologize to Monaco fans after scoring. He was a former
Monaco player. Mbapp has 18 Champions League goals for Madrid, the most of any
player in the first 20 appearances with the club, ahead of the 14 of Cristiano
Ronaldo.
Jude Bellingham, who was also jeered by some fans on Saturday, scored Madrid's
sixth goal in the 80th.
Vincius came close to scoring again on a breakaway in second-half stoppage
time.
Madrid had entered the match against Levante coming off a two-game losing
streak that included a loss to Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup
in Saudi Arabia --- which prompted Alonso's departure --- and an embarrassing
elimination against Albacete in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
There was a moment of silence before the match in honor of the victims of the
train crash that killed more than 40 people in southern Spain on Sunday.
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