VINíCIUS JR SILENCES BERNABéU WHISTLES WITH THREE ASSISTS AND A GOAL IN 6-1 MONACO ROUT

Vinícius Júnior turned boos into cheers with 3 assists and a goal as Real Madrid thrashed Monaco 6-1 in the UCL.

Vinícius Jr silences Bernabéu whistles with three assists and a goal in 6-1 Monaco rout
Kylian Mbappé officially surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut scoring record for Real Madrid

Real Madrid hammered Monaco 6-1 in the Champions League, and Vinicius Junior stole the show—even after the home crowd started out booing him.

It was a rough start for Vinicius. Every time he touched the ball at the Santiago Bernabéu, you could hear jeers from the stands. The boos weren’t as fierce as they’d been against Levante a few days earlier, but still, the crowd weren’t shy about showing their frustration. Yet as the game went on, everything changed. Vinicius racked up three assists and scored a brilliant goal in the 63rd minute—his first Champions League goal of the season. By then, the boos had faded. When the final whistle blew, the fans were back on his side, and he walked off as man of the match.

Vinicius hasn’t exactly had a dream season. Some fans blamed him for Xabi Alonso being sacked last week. Alonso, a legend for both Madrid and Spain as a player, lasted just eight months as coach before things unravelled. Vinicius had some public spats with him, and word is, he was the main guy in the locker room not backing Alonso.

His goal on Tuesday was pure class. He slipped past a couple of defenders, found the top corner, and then skipped the usual celebration in front of the fans. Instead, he hugged his teammates at midfield and then made a beeline for Alvaro Arbeloa, Madrid’s new coach, to celebrate in his UCL Debut.

Vinicius set up two goals—one for Kylian Mbappé in the 26th minute and another for Franco Mastantuono in the 51st. He also whipped in the cross that forced Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer into an own goal. Not bad for a guy getting booed at kickoff.

Someone in the stands held up a banner: “Vini, we are behind you.” That about summed up the shift in mood.

Mbappé got Madrid going early, scoring in the fifth minute, and hugged Vinicius after both his second goal and after the match. He’s been vocal recently, telling fans not to pin the team’s problems on Vinicius alone. Arbeloa’s backed him, too.

The fans started to come around. When Vinicius missed just wide in the seventh minute, he actually got a round of applause. Even when he misplayed a ball in the 40th minute, the boos were drowned out by cheers.

No one booed club president Florentino Pérez this time, unlike the Levante match.

Mbappé, who used to play for Monaco, seemed to apologise to their fans after scoring. He’s now got 18 Champions League goals for Madrid—more than anyone else in their first 20 games for the club, beating even Cristiano Ronaldo’s early record.

Jude Bellingham, who also got some stick from the crowd on Saturday, rounded off the scoring with Madrid’s sixth goal in the 80th minute.

In stoppage time, Vinicius almost bagged a second on a breakaway.

This win felt like a reset for Madrid. Just a few days before, they’d lost two straight, including a painful Super Cup final against Barcelona in Saudi Arabia and a humiliating Copa del Rey exit to Albacete. That run of bad form got Alonso fired. Now, with Arbeloa at the helm and Vinicius back in form, the mood at the Bernabeu is starting to shift.

ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION

Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.

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Arsenal Bag Extra £15.9m Prize Money After Historic Champions League Semifinal - Photo Credit: PA

Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.

Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.

From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.

That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.

By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.

They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.

Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.

It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.

Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.

PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.

Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.

JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL

Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.

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Oblak Demands Mentality Shift At Atletico After Crashing Out To Arsenal - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.

Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”

He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”

On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”

Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”

At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a

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