Ten-man Real Madrid defeated Mexico’s Pachuca 3-1 in their Group H clash at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Monday (IST).
Madrid entered the match at Bank of America Stadium sitting second in the group behind FC Salzburg, following a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in their opener. The Spanish giant was without star striker Kylian Mbappe, who is recovering from gastroenteritis.
Center back Raul Asencio was shown a straight red card just seven minutes into the match for fouling Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon as the last defender outside the box, reports Xinhua.
Despite being down a man, Vinicius Jr. nearly capitalised on a defensive error a few minutes later. Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno mis controlled a soft back pass but managed to poke the ball away just before Vinicius could reach it.
Pachuca then tested Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois twice, with close-range efforts from Robert Kenedy and Alan Bautista, but the Belgian made both saves.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for Madrid in the 35th minute, collecting a pass from Fran Garcia inside the box and firing into the bottom right corner. Madrid doubled the lead just before halftime when Gonzalo Garcia set up Arda Guler, who slotted the ball into the far post.
Federico Valverde added a third for Madrid in the 70th minute before Elias Montiel pulled one back for Pachuca ten minutes later.
Al Hilal will face Pachuca in their final group match on Thursday in Nashville, while Real Madrid meets Salzburg the same day in Philadelphia.
Earlier in Washington, D.C., Salzburg and Al Hilal played to a goalless draw. The win lifts Real Madrid to the top of the group with four points, ahead of Salzburg on goal difference. Al Hilal sits third with two points, while Pachuca’s Club World Cup hopes end with back-to-back defeats.
Man City cruise into knockouts with Al Ain win
Manchester City are through to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Round of 16 with a game to spare after a resounding 6-0 win over Al Ain on Monday (IST), that also confirms Juventus’ qualification.
Ilkay Gundogan (2), Claudio Echeverri, Erling Haaland, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki all opened their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 accounts as hopes of knockout-stage football were extinguished for both their outplayed Emirati opponents and City’s opening-game victims, Wydad AC.
Pep Guardiola’s side weren’t always at their sparkling best, but the outcome was never really in doubt from the moment Gundogan gave them an eighth-minute lead. Only the German will know for sure whether the goal was a perfectly judged chip, an attempted cross or, quite possibly, a little of both.
Either way, it settled City nerves and was followed by a goal of unquestionable brilliance. Echeverri became the second Argentinian at this tournament, after Lionel Messi, to score direct from a free-kick, and his superb curling effort was every bit as impressive as at his famous countryman’s.
It was a spectacular way for the teenager to notch his first City goal, and he was soon joined on the scoresheet by the club’s most prolific player.
Erling Haaland had gone a close a couple of times and, when Rami Rabia was penalised for a foul on Nathan Ake in first-half stoppage time, he seized his chance, sending the keeper the wrong way with a coolly dispatched penalty.
Guardiola’s side continued to dominate in a one-sided second half, and saw their advantage extended by Gundogan’s second – lofted home after a clever reverse pass from Bernardo Silva – and a smart finish from substitute Oscar Bobb.
Further gloss was added to the scoreline with a minute remaining when Haaland teed up Cherki to rifle home his first goal since joining the club from Lyon.
Gurdiola’s men will now turn to Orlando, where an in-form Juventus – who lead the section on goals scored – will offer City stiff resistance in the battle to finish top.
Juventus see off Wydad; Salzburg and Al Hilal play out goalless draw
A double from Kenan Yildiz – including a sensational strike – inspired Juventus to 4-1 win despite Wydad AC netting their first goal.
For the second game in a row, Wydad got off to the worst possible start when Juventus scored with their very first attack in the sixth minute. A patient build-up saw Kephren Thuram thread a clever reverse pass to Yildiz. The Turkish star’s shot took a nick off Abdelmounaim Boutouil and the ball squeezed in at the near post.
If he was unlucky not to get the credit for the opener, there was no doubting where the credit belonged ten minutes later when Yildiz produced an early goal of the tournament contender, FIFA reports.
Good work from Andrea Cambiaso created the chance, and the Juve youngster absolutely fizzed an unstoppable effort into the top-right corner to give keeper Mehdi Benabid no chance.
However, Wydad gave themselves a lifeline in the 25th minute when Thembinkosi Lorch collected Nordin Amrabat’s pass and clipped a tidy finish past Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio.
The woodwork prevented Juve skipper Andrea Cambiaso from restoring their two-goal lead from a corner in the second half, before Randal Kolo Muani turned a cross wide from a couple of feet out.
But the Italians made sure of the points with more Yildiz magic when he collected a Muani pass, cut inside and tucked in a composed finish. Dusan Vlahovic then added further gloss to the scoreline in injury time when Guilherme Ferreira bundled him over and the Serbian striker converted the resulting penalty.
Elsewhere, FC Salzburg missed the chance to book their place in the Round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as they were held to a goalless draw by Al Hilal after a stunning point-blank save from Yassine Bounou.
Thomas Letsch’s side knew that a win would take them through after victory over CF Pachuca in their opening match, but neither side could break the deadlock at Audi Field in Washington D.C.