Alvaro Arbeloa's tenure as interim manager following the sacking of Xabi Alonso got off to a rough start with a 3-2 loss to Segunda Division side Albacete, knocking Los Blancos out of the Copa del Rey, starting off Arbeloa's reign with even more questions.
Since then, he has started to show exactly why the club had faith in him for the rest of the season. He bagged his first La Liga victory with a 2-0 win over Levante this past weekend, but in his first Champions League in charge, he left fans' jaws on the floor with an impressive 6-1 win over Monaco, with such a dominant performance that very few were expecting.
While fans were surely expecting a win against Monaco, no one was expecting a six-goal mauling of the French side, and this could serve as Arbeloa's key turning point in Madrid's season. We saw the best performance from Vinicius Junior that we've seen all season, showing Arbeloa's ability to get the best out of the players in his short reign so far.
We also saw what has become a typical Kylian Mbappe display this season, scoring two goals and even playing his part defensively, something sure to please all fans. However, what fans may not know is that those two goals by the Frenchman put him on an elite list of Madrid legends in Champions League goalscoring charts.
Mbappe magics up more history for Madrid
Mbappe became just the fourth Madrid player to score 10+ goals in a single Champions League campaign. He joins a list of club legends Raul, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese managing to do it a jaw-dropping seven times.
Mbappe is already at 11 goals this Champions League campaign, and we still have one matchday left in the league phase, making this an even more impressive achievement. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for goals in a single Champions League season with 17 from the 13/14 season, a number the Frenchman is easily on pace to beat this season.
The 27-year-old bagged a hat-trick against Kairat on matchday two and a four-goal performance against Olympiacos on matchday five, proving his importance to Los Blancos in their hunt for their 16th Champions League title.
Real's final league phase game comes next week as they visit Jose Mourinho's Benfica, an opponent Los Merengues surprisingly haven't faced since the 1960s. A victory is key as the club aims to finish in the top two in the league phase table, as it would clinch home advantage in the second leg of all knockout ties.