Vinícius wins over fans with 3 assists and a goal in Real Madrid's 6-1 rout of Monaco

MADRID (AP) — With three assists and a goal, Vinícius Júnior 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 Vinícius scored his first Champions League goal of the season in the 63rd minute.

“The last few days had been very tough, not only for me but for my teammates as well,” Vinícius said. “It was especially complicated for me because of the boos, because of what was being said about me. I'm always under the spotlight and I don't want to be under the spotlight for what happens off the field, only for the things that I do on the field and for everything I've done for this club.”

Vinícius said the “demand is always high” at Real Madrid.

“Not always I'll be at my best technically, but I try to give my all for this jersey and for this club that has given me so much,” he said. “When we play at home we need the support of the fans so everything can go back to normal. We want to win and the fans also want to win, and if we are together we will win great things this season.”

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 Vinícius’ name was announced in the starting lineup, but this time the game ended with fans on Vinícius’ side as he was chosen the man of the match.

Vinícius has been having a lackluster season and some fans viewed him as one of the reasons why coach Xabi Alonso was replaced last week.

Vinícius 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. Vinícius was reportedly the main player not backing Alonso in the locker room.

Vinícius 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 Álvaro Arbeloa.

“More than hugging me, he was hugging the Madrid fans,” Arbeloa said. “We are all very happy with this reconciliation between Vini and the fans. It's what we wanted. He needs the Bernabeu and the Bernabeu enjoyed Vini and will keep enjoying him.”

Vinícius has assists in goals by Kylian Mbappé 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.

Mbappé scored in the fifth minute to put the hosts ahead. He hugged Vinícius after his second goal later in the first half — and again following the final whistle.

Mbappé and Arbeloa had come out defending Vinícius recently, with Mbappé saying the crowd shouldn't single out Vinícius as the one to blame for the team's struggles.

Many fans applauded a seventh-minute attempt by Vinícius, 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 Pérez like it had happened against Levante.

Mbappé appeared to apologize to Monaco fans after scoring. He was a former Monaco player. Mbappé 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. The England player celebrated by making signs with his hands as if he was drinking. Spanish media reports had said during the week that some Madrid fans complained that Bellingham was spending too much time partying amid the team's struggles.

“A lot of people say a lot of things,” he said. “It was a bit of a joke back to the fans and to the people who say whatever they want.”

Bellingham said Vinícius needed that support from the fans.

“He is a player who thrives when he gets love,” he said. “You could see today, when the atmosphere changes towards him, he goes up leaps and bounds in his game.”

Vinícius 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.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham celebrates his side's sixth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior scores his side's fifth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates his side's fifth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates with head coach Álvaro Arbeloa his side's fifth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates his side's fifth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Levante in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates with Vinicius Junior the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Real Madrid and Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Levante in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Another day, another record crowd. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz advanced in straight sets Wednesday and the No. 3 seeds — Coco Gauff and Alexander Zverev — also progressed to the third round of the Australian Open.

The combined numbers for day and night sessions, 103,720 fans, set a full-day record for the third time in four days of the main draw at the season-opening major, which has become a festival of tennis.

Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka opened Day 4 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bai Zhouxuan on Rod Laver Arena, and Gauff beat left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena.

Alcaraz fended off Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in an afternoon encounter on the center court, and then reflected on his own performance and on his golf outing with Roger Federer.

“I didn’t see myself playing that good but then talking to my team, I realized that I played better than I thought,” he said of his tough outing against the free-hitting Hanfmann. “I'm still getting used to the conditions, getting used to playing better.”

Alcaraz, 22, is trying to win his first title at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

Zverev, who lost last year's final here to Jannik Sinner, had to wait through a half-hour rain delay and concern over a sore left ankle before beating Alexandre Muller 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

He was leading the fourth set 2-1 and serving at 15-0 when he had to halt the match and sit in a courtside chair for treatment.

“I took a painkiller. It was fine after that,” he said. “I was a bit scared because it was toward the Achilles tendon. I just wanted the physio to check it out. After the medical timeout I was moving fine, playing fine.”

He was playing a night match on John Cain Arena, the third of Melbourne Park's arenas with a retractable roof, where only ground pass tickets are needed for entry. So on a day with a massive crowd, it was still full late.

“The atmosphere is insane. The crowd is wild,” he said. “I love playing here.”

Local hope Alex de Minaur beat Hamad Medjedovic 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena around the same time.

“I weathered the storm. He was hitting the ball really big and deep,” said de Minaur, who is aiming to end a long drought for Aussie men at the home Grand Slam event. “I’m super happy to battle my way through.”

He next faces No. 29 Frances Tiafoe, who beat Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago against Madison Keys. She is after her fifth Grand Slam title and has two trophies at the U.S. Open.

She raced to a 5-0 lead but then needed seven set points to take the first set against the defensive-minded Bai, who used clever drop shots to help her stay in the match.

Sabalenka will next face Anastasia Potapova, who ousted former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Teenagers Mirra Andreeva (No. 8), Victoria Mboko (17) and Iva Jovic (29) advanced to the third round.

The 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina defeated Linda Klimovicova 7-5, 6-1 a day after her husband, Gael Monfils, said goodbye at Melbourne Park in his retirement year.

Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, who was highly praised during her first-round match Sunday for assisting an ill ballkid, advanced 6-2, 6-4 over Anna Bondar.

“I really appreciated there were many Turkish people, and I felt like I was at home,” she said. “At first I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. It was very, very loud.”

Former U.S. Open winner and 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Quentin Halys 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Jaime Faria 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and 19th-seeded Tommy Paul defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

No. 10 Alexander Bublik, No. 25 Learner Tien and No. 26 Cameron Norrie progressed along with No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who won the first two sets but then had to struggle to beat big-serving American Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

Two days after winning for the 100th time at Melbourne Park, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has an afternoon second-rounder against Francesco Maestrelli. The prime time night slot on Rod Laver Arena goes to two-time defending champion Sinner against Australia's James Duckworth.

Naomi Osaka, who made quite the fashion statement in her tournament opener, has another night match against Sorana Cirstea.

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts during his second round match against Alexandre Muller of France iat the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after defeating Yannick Hanfmann of Germany in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Bai Zhuoxuan of China in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. falls during her second round match against Olga Danilovic of Serbia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Tommy Paul of the U.S. serves to Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey reacts after defeating Anna Bondar of Hungary in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Elina Svitolina, right, of Ukraine is congratulated by Cristina Bucsa, left, of Spain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a forehand return to Bai Zhuoxuan of China during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Bai Zhuoxuan of China plays a forehand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her second round match against Bai Zhuoxuan of China at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)