UCL: Monaco humbled by clinical Real Madrid
After a good run of form in the Champions League league phase, a valiant AS Monaco were undone by Real Madrid putting on a clinical display at home in a 6-1 win. Catch up on all the action from the Bernabeu with our match report.
Mbappé haunts his former side
Still working with a threadbare side owing to the Africa Cup of Nations and a raft of injuries, Monaco manager Sébastien Pocognoli would tweak his side by reintroducing Thilo Kehrer in place of the ineligible Wout Faes in defence and adding fit-again Ansu Fati on the left wing. Despite those absences, Pocognoli lined up a strong attacking 4-2-3-1, and looked ready to go toe-to-toe with the recently installed Real Madrid manager, Álvaro Arbeloa.
Despite showing plenty of initiative in the early going, Monaco were quickly pegged back by their former academy player, Kylian Mbappé, who continued his strong season by scoring on the turn to break the deadlock (5'). Monaco responded quickly on the counter, but Folarin Balogun, who has been impressive in Europe this season, fired just wide (9'). Midway through the first half, Mbappé struck again from close range to double the lead (26'), before Jordan Teze hit the crossbar (31'). Monaco would keep Thibaut Courtois busy, with both Fati and Balogun forcing him into saves (36, 42'), but the halftime whistle would sound with the hosts maintaining their two-goal advantage.
Ansu Fati is back at the Santiago Bernabéu 🇪🇸👀 pic.twitter.com/nUTMkiBguv
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 20, 2026
A brave effort in vain
After the break, Monaco still believed that they could get back into the match, but a quick pair of goals from Franco Mastantuono (51') and Kehrer into his own net (55') all but put the match out of reach. Knowing that goal difference could yet make the difference on their reaching the playoffs, Les Monégasques continued to push and just before the hour, Aleksandr Golovin would force a fine save from Courtois (57'), but it was the hosts who struck next through Vinicius, who picked out the top corner for his side's fifth goal (63').
Teze would pull a goal back (71') after a poor clearance by the hosts, but Jude Bellingham would add a sixth to secure the final margin, sealing a humbling loss to the 15-time champions. Still provisionally in the top 24 ahead of tomorrow's matches, the Monégasques can secure a place in the next round with a win over Juventus at the Stade Louis-II next week, but will first need to face a dangerous Le Havre side in Ligue 1 McDonald's on Saturday.
