Real Madrid booked their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup final after thrashing Al Ahly 4-1 on Wednesday evening.
FIFA Club World Cup
Result: Al Ahly 1-4 Real Madrid
Date: 08 February 2023
Venue: Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah
Madrid were without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Karim Benzema and Eder Militao due to injuries but they had a strong line-up, as Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde led the attack.
The Red Devils, meanwhile, in their third successive semi-final appearance dropped Bafana Bafana attacker Percy Tau to the bench from the team that narrowly beat Seattle Sounders in the quarter-finals.
Los Blancos were all over Al Ahly in the early stages but the Egyptian giants had the first real chance on 19 minutes after Mohamed Sherif went through on goal but he fired his shot over the crossbar.
It took up until just before the half-hour mark for Carlo Ancelotti's charges to threaten, as Vinicius Junior latched onto a through ball by Rodrygo in the box but from a tight angle dragged his shot wide.
The game stretched from end to end towards the interval and that suited Madrid as Vinicius Junior eventually broke the deadlock with a dink over goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy after a poor clearance at the back put him through on goal.
Madrid had a perfect start in the second stanza as Valverde doubled their lead within a minute from the interval with a strike from a rebound after El-Shenawy could not hold onto a shot by Rodrygo.
Tau was eventually brought on just after the hour-mark in place of Sherif for fresh legs and Al Ahly were awarded a penalty shortly from there, as Hussein El Shahat was brought down in the box.
Ali Maaloul pulled a goal back for the Red Devils from the penalty spot after sending goalkeeper Andriy Lunin the wrong way.
With the game on the edge, Luka Modric should have sealed the deal for Madrid in the dying minutes from the penalty spot but his shot from 12-yards was saved by El-Shenawy after a foul on Vinicius Junior was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
However, Rodrygo eventually put the game to bed for Los Blancos in stoppage time with a chipped shot over El-Shenawy after he was setup by Dani Ceballos.
Substitute Sergio Arribas added a fourth goal for Madrid with a strike in the box after a some good build-up play, as the Spanish giants set up a final against Al-Hilal, while the Egyptians will face Flamengo in a third/fourth play-off match.
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