Real Madrid crush opponents while already eyeing Benfica | OneFootball

In Álvaro Arbeloa’s third match as head coach, the Merengues showcased all their power in European football and steamrolled AS Monaco with a 6-1 thrashing at the Santiago Bernabéu, in a game counting for the seventh and penultimate round of the regular phase of the Champions League.

The Spanish side, who will travel to Lisbon next week to face Benfica – who received praise from an opponent – in the closing match of this stage of the prestigious tournament, began building their victory as early as the fifth minute, with Kylian Mbappé opening the scoring. The French forward found the net again against his former team in the 26th minute.

AS Monaco had no answer to stop the Merengue machine and ended up conceding a third goal in the 51st minute, a goal scored by Argentine Franco Mastantuono. The rout continued just moments later, in the 55th minute, when German center-back Thilo Kehrer put the ball into his own net.

The last half hour in Madrid saw three more goals. Vinícius Júnior, who had already provided two assists, found the back of the net in the 63rd minute, before Jude Bellingham wrapped up the scoring in the 80th. In between, Jordan Teze scored a consolation goal for the French side in the 72nd minute.

All told, Real Madrid sits second in the overall standings with 15 points, just behind leaders Arsenal, who have 21. It’s worth noting that Benfica will host the Madrid side on January 28th at 8:00 PM at Estádio da Luz. The match will close out the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.