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Real Madrid 5-3 Al-Hilal: Carlo Ancelloti’s men conquer the FIFTH Club World Cup after an eight-goal thriller in which doubles from Vinicius Jr and Fede Valverde ensure victory in Morocco
- Real Madrid came from behind to lift their fifth Club World Cup title against Al-Hilal on Saturday
- The LaLiga giants were put to the test by their rival from Saudi Arabia in the final
- Fede Valverde and Vinicius Jr scored two goals in the exciting match
It was V for victory in Morocco as Real Madrid became club world champions with a 5-3 victory in the Club World Cup final against Al-Hilal.
Vinicius and Fede Vaverde scored a double in the resounding victory with the Brazilian and the Uruguayan proving too much for the Saudi Arabian champions.
There was a goal by Karim Benzema that made the final come back from injury, as he had not done in the World Cup last December.
It is the second trophy of the season after they won the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season.
It was not always convincing but it is hard to lose a final when you score five and Vinicius boosts it, who is emerging as a true leader of this Madrid team.
Karim Benzema scored Real Madrid’s third goal to start an electric second half
Luciano Vietto scores the first of his double with a brilliant chip over Andriy Lunin
Valverde scores his second of the game when he arrives late into the box to smash this shot past the keeper to make it 4-1.
He took the lead in the 13th minute when Benzema exchanged passes with Valverde and, after a pass from the Frenchman, Vinicius’ men finished off Abdullah Al-Mayouf in the Al-Hilal goal.
It was four minutes after two when Valverde finished off a loose ball in the area after failing to clear a cross from Luka Modric.
It was Valverde’s 10th goal of the season in all competitions. Carlo Ancelotti had said at the start of the season that if he didn’t break double figures he would break his manager’s badge.
Just when it looked as if Madrid were going to win the final, Moussa Marega pulled a goal back for the champions from Saudi Arabia. It was a long ball over the top for Marega, who ran clear and slipped his shot under the dive from Andriy Lunin, who was taking over for the injured Thibaut Courtois.
If Madrid feared that it would slip away in the second half, it found another way.
Vinicius was the architect of the third. After connecting well with Eduardo Camavinga, he crossed with the outside on the right for Benzema to score.
And in the next attack there were four when Dani Carvajal crossed from the right and Valverde scored the second, finishing off over Al-Mayouf.
Al-Hilal scored another goal when former Villarreal and Atlético Madrid striker Luciano Vietto scored, but again it was short-lived.
Vinicius cut from the left and scored his second and Madrid’s fifth, although the game did not end as a duel because Vietto got the second with 11 minutes remaining. There were eight added minutes but Madrid held on.
He has not been at his best in Morocco and Marega could have made it more interesting five minutes from the end, but he wasted a clear chance to make it 5-4. The European champions had enough and can say that for the eighth time they are also world club champions. Vinicus arrived in Morocco amid the noise of the constant racist insults against him in various LaLiga stadiums.
He stood up to the jerks, but he seemed to have done it at the cost of taking his eyes off the ball. His focus was definitely on football again against Al-Hilal and he got more trophies for Carlo Ancelotti’s team.