Real Madrid Club World Cup Final

Real Madrid has had an eventful couple of weeks recently. Their 2023 so far has been filled with games in four competitions, including the Club World Cup. As a lot of people know, Real Madrid reached this tournament by winning the 2022 UFA Champions League last year against Liverpool back in May.

Los Blancos started their road to the trophy by defeating Egyptian side Al Ahly, the club with the most trophies won in the entire world, on February 9^th by a 4-1 score. The goals were scored by Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas giving Real the lead and allowing them to qualify for the final where they faced Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.

Madrid faced Al Hilal on February 11^th, and it was a bit of a thriller, with the final score being 5-3. Los Blancos were pushed a lot more than originally expected, and a lot of supporters would have been nervous at certain points of the game. This is not so surprising, after all–Al Hilal had already shown their mettle in the semifinals by eliminating Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo.

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Nevertheless, superb performances by some of Madrid’s top players, such as Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior, proved to be the key factor in Los Blancos adding another trophy to their cabinet. Valverde and Vinicius, in particular, had a lot of influence in the game as they both scored doubles, and the fifth one was complemented by Karim Benzema.

When it came to Al Hilal, as we mentioned earlier, they proved to be quite the challenge in some periods of the game, and managed to score three goals against Real Madrid, which is something than in most games would have proven to give them a much better result. Regardless, the Saudi Arabians can go back home with their heads held high, as they had a very good run in the Club World Cup and delivered the goods for the most part.

Marega and Vietto’s double put things into a very interesting situation for the Saudi Arabian team, but Madrid showed a lot of character and a clinical edge when it mattered the most during the game, which has been a very running theme during Carlo Ancelotti’s second tenure as their manager.

With this win, Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for the fifth time, making them the club that has won the most since it started. As an interesting fact, Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has won the competition six times: the five times with Real Madrid we already mentioned and one in 2013 with German giants Bayern Munich.

Overall, a very good tournament with a couple of upsets, such as Al Hilal eliminating Flamengo, who were poised as the favorites to face Real in the final, and with a very good final match with a lot of goals in the process.

🏆 @realmadrid, CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD FOR THE FIFTH TIME! 👏#ClubWC

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 11, 2023