Football – Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler scored late in the first half to help 10-man Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over CF Pachuca in a Group H clash played amid sweltering conditions yesterday in Charlotte, NC.
Federico Valverde’s sliding volley in the 70th minute sealed Xabi Alonso’s first victory as Madrid manager.
The result puts his side’s Fifa Club World Cup campaign back on track after a dramatic 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in Wednesday’s opener, and despite yesterday’s early dismissal of defender Raul Asencio.
Real Madrid (1-0-1, 4 points) can clinch a place in the last 16 with a win or draw against RB Salzburg on Thursday in Philadelphia.
Thibault Courtois made 10 saves for the victors, though he could do little on Elias Montiel’s 80th-minute deflected effort that provided Pachuca (0-2-0, 0 points) consolation.
The Mexican side was eliminated despite leading its Spanish foes 25-8 edge in shots overall and 11-3 in efforts on target. But as in Pachuca’s 2-1 Wednesday loss to Salzburg, it was their opponents who had more quality in their attacks.
Head referee Ramon Abatti Abel showed no hesitation in dismissing Asencio in the seventh minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity after the Madrid defender hauled down Salomon Rondon just beyond the penalty area.
But after absorbing pressure for most of the opening half-hour, the Spaniards raced out to a 2-0 lead in the half’s final 15 minutes.
In the 35th, Gonzalo Garcia’s quick flick-on freed Fran Garcia down the left. The latter then picked out the late run of Bellingham, who collected a square ball and slid his low finish past Carlos Moreno from 15 yards.
In the 43rd, it was Guler providing the finishing touch from inside the area on another flowing Madrid move, this time with Gonzalo Garcia providing the final square pass after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first-touch cross.
Pachuca continued to apply pressure after the break, with Courtois forced to push Bryan Gonzalez’s early-second half effort over the bar and John Kennedy’s 61st-minute strike from distance well clear of his left post.
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