Real Madrid booked their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals with a 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday night.
FIFA Club World Cup
Result: Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
Date: 05 July 2025
Venue: Metlife Stadium
Coach Xabi Alonso went with the same side that started the win over Juventus in the last round, as Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo continued on the substitutes bench.
Los Blancos got off to the perfect start when Gonzalo Garcia bagged his fourth goal of the tournament after turning home a cross from Arda Guler at the near post after just 10 minutes.
In doing so, Garcia became the first Madrid to player score four goals at a Club World Cup since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016.
The lead was doubled on 20 minutes when Trent Alexander-Arnold bagged his second assist in as many games when his low cross found Fran Garcia, who slotted home from six yards out for only his second goal for the Spanish giants,
Dortmund, meanwhile, did see a bit more of the ball in the latter stages of the first half but they were unable to carve out any serious openings at Thibaut Courtois' goal.
The Bundesliga side responded with three changes at the start of the second half, as Maximilian Beier, Yan Couto and Felix Nmecha replaced Karim Adeyemi, Niklas Suele and Pascal Gross.
The Germans were a little more adventurous after the interval but it was Los Blancos who nearly added a third goal just after the hour mark when Aurélien Tchouaméni saw his first-time curling effort crash against the crossbar.
Alonso re-shuffled his pack for the final 20 minutes as Mbappe, Luka Modric and Dani Ceballos were introduced in place of Jud Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Alexander-Arnold.
Dortmund set up a nervy finish when Maximilian Beier reduced the deficit on 93 minutes with a lovely finish into the far corner.
Mbappe finally made his mark on the tournament by bagging Madrid's third goal a minute later with an acrobatic volley at the far post after being picked out by Guler.
The game ended on a sour note for Los Blancos, who were reduced to ten men on 96 minutes when Dean Huijsen was shown a straight red card for bringing down Serhou Guirassy, who stepped up to convert the penalty but the Spaniard's held on for the win.
Semi-Final Fixtures:
Fluminense v Chelsea
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid
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