AFCON 2025
Despite playing with 10 men for nearly the entire match, Real Madrid secured a 3-1 win over Pachuca, who remain winless in three FIFA Club World Cup games against European teams.
Pachuca, heavy underdogs, gained hope when Real’s Raul Asencio was sent off in the 10th minute for fouling Salomon Rondon, who had broken free.
Soon after, Thibaut Courtois made a stunning double save to deny Kenedy and Alan Bautista.
The ten men of Madrid faced constant pressure but took the lead against the run of play. Jude Bellingham’s smart run, found by Fran Garcia, ended with a precise left-footed strike.
Before halftime, a flowing move involving Trent Alexander-Arnold and Gonzalo Garcia was finished by Arda Guler. Pachuca pressed after the break, with Rondon heading just wide from Federico Pereira’s cross.
However, any comeback hopes faded when Brahim Diaz’s cross was tapped in by Federico Valverde 20 minutes from time, sealing Madrid’s victory.
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