Madrid's Vinicius subjected to more Bernabeu boos in Champions League

MADRID (AP) — Vinicius Junior was booed again by some of the Real Madrid fans in the Champions League match against Monaco on Tuesday.

Part of the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium jeered the Brazil forward nearly every time he touched the ball early on in the league-phase game in Madrid.

The boos were not nearly as loud as they were on Saturday in Madrid's 2-0 win over Levante in the Spanish league, and they got quieter as Madrid dominated the game against Monaco.

Like what happened against Levante, some of the fans jeered when Vinicius' name was announced in the starting lineup.

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

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

The boos Tuesday got quieter after Kylian Mbappe scored in the fifth minute to put the hosts ahead. Vinicius then assisted Mbappe's second goal in the 26th.

Mbappe went to hug Vinicius after the second goal.

Mbappe and new coach Álvaro Arbeloa had come out defending Vinicius recently, with Mbappe saying the crowd shouldn’t single out Vinicius as the one to blame for the team's struggles.

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

Mbappe appeared to apologize to Monaco fans after scoring. He was a former Monaco player.

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.

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