The whistles against Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s most recent match at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu were unmistakable. The next home game against AS Monaco is now approaching. Kylian Mbappé appealed to his own fans before the match—and stood up for Real’s controversial figure.
The fact that the atmosphere surrounding Real Madrid leaves a lot to be desired at the moment became clear at the latest during the recent 2-0 home win against UD Levante. Even before kick-off, the spectators at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu were waving white handkerchiefs, and Jude Bellingham and, in particular, controversial figure Vinicius Junior were greeted with a chorus of boos as the line-up was read out. The same was true for president Florentino Perez, who was chanted at to resign. Real’s next challenge in front of their home crowd is already on Tuesday, when they host AS Monaco in the Champions League. Will there be more boos directed at individual players or officials at the Bernabeu? Kylian Mbappé criticized his own fans at the press conference ahead of the game against his former club: “What I didn’t like on Saturday: I understand the boos, but if they boo, they should boo the whole team, not specific players in particular.”
Vinicius Junior, who was close to tears after the game against Levante and whom Mbappé had taken care of, is ultimately just “a human being. It’s understandable that it affects you,” said the Frenchman about the boos: “We have to protect him better, myself included, so that he’s not alone. At Real Madrid, he’ll never be alone. The whole club is behind him.”
However, Mbappé emphasized that the disappointing performances of recent weeks were “not the fault of individual players, but of the whole team.” In general, he even understands the fans’ dissatisfaction: “I was young myself and watched all the soccer games. When I wasn’t happy, I talked badly about the players. Or I booed when I was at the stadium. So I can understand it.“
Real wants to reach the round of 16 – without any detours
In Real’s flagship competition, the Champions League, they are now looking for another convincing victory against Monaco. ”We have the character and personality to reverse the trend on the pitch,” said the top scorer in the Champions League and La Liga.
Especially because Monaco are “not in their best phase.” In the league, Real’s upcoming opponent has lost its last four games and is only ninth. Most recently, they lost 1-3 at home to promoted Lorient. In the Champions League, however, AS is well on its way to qualifying for the playoffs with nine points and only one defeat.
This is a detour that Real, currently seventh with twelve points, would like to avoid: “We have to play aggressively from the start and show that it’s our day. We want to win so that we qualify directly for the round of 16 and don’t have to play two more games in the playoffs,” Mbappé made clear ahead of the first international game under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
