Real Madrid 3–1 Pachuca: Player Ratings and Highlights from Club World Cup Victory

Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca – Match Review

Real Madrid defeated Pachuca 3-1 in an entertaining FIFA Club World Cup encounter on Sunday evening.

The Mexican side started the match very well with a lot of intensity, imposing their physicality and pressure on the Spanish giants right from the off. From minute one, Salomon Rondon was a handful for the Real Madrid defense, particularly Raul Asencio. The Venezuelan veteran made life difficult for Asencio early on, and in the seventh minute, the Spaniard was shown a straight red card after bringing Rondon down, who was through on goal.

Although the early red card briefly sparked Real Madrid into action after a poor start, they were still on the ropes, and in the 18th minute, Thibaut Courtois produced a vital double save to keep his side from going 2-0 down. While Madrid held a talent advantage, Pachuca were outfighting them in the early stages of the match and seemed to want it a lot more.

Despite Pachuca’s strong start, it was Madrid who drew first blood. They executed superb play down the left flank, and Francisco Garcia delivered the ball into the path of Jude Bellingham, who strode into the box and slotted an excellent left-footed finish into the bottom corner, leaving Carlos Moreno with no chance.

Eight minutes later, Madrid doubled their lead through Arda Guler. Their first goal was well worked, but the second was even better, showcasing elite one-touch football capped off with a tidy finish by the Turkish international into the bottom corner. While Pachuca initially demonstrated a strong performance and had the numerical advantage, the momentum shifted decisively around the half-hour mark, allowing Madrid to take command of the match.

Guler’s goal was pivotal, marking the concluding play of the first half, and as the teams headed into the break, Real Madrid held a solid 2-0 lead, remarkably maintaining it with only 10 men on the field.

Pachuca’s half-time adjustments, especially the introduction of John Kennedy, gave them a new lease of life in the second half. They came out much more threatening than they had been before the break, with Kennedy repeatedly cutting inside and testing Courtois with shots from distance, but the Belgian goalkeeper was up to the challenge.

Despite Pachuca’s efforts to get back into the game, they were sucker-punched in the 70th minute as Madrid made it 3-0 with another brilliantly worked goal. Dean Huijsen initiated the move by playing a perfect through ball to Vinicius Junior, who found Federico Valverde in midfield. Valverde then passed it to Brahim Diaz, who returned it to Valverde, making a superb run into the box to tap it into the net.

Just 10 minutes after Madrid’s third goal, and feeling secure in their lead, Pachuca found the net as Elias Montiel, lively throughout the match, scored from outside the box with a shot that took a big deflection.

After a bit of pushing and shoving at the end of the match between Antonio Rudiger and a few Pachuca players, the referee blew his whistle, and the final score was Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca.

Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca – Match Statistics

| Real Madrid |       Statistic        |   Pachuca      |
|—————|——————–|—————-|
|       57            | Possession (%)   |          43          |
| 8                    | Shots                    |         25           |
| 3                    | Shots on Target |          11           |
| 2                    | Corners                |          7            |
| 10                  | Saves                    |           0           |
| 0                    | Yellow Cards      |           1            |
| 1                     | Red Cards           |           0           |

Real Madrid Player Ratings

– GK: Thibaut Courtois – 9/10** (Man of the Match)
Despite being a man down, Courtois made 10 saves and performed heroically, with the goal he conceded being extremely unfortunate due to its deflection.

– RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10**
Provided several dangerous crosses and played a significant role in Guler’s goal, though had a few shaky moments defensively.

– CB: Raul Asencio – 4/10**
A disastrous seven-minute appearance. Asencio looked overmatched by Rondon and was shown a red card for a fouling while the forward was on a break.

–  CB: 7.5/10 for Dean Huijsen**
played brilliantly, displaying poise and control when moving the ball out of defense.

– LB: 8/10 Francisco Garcia
Strong on both the offensive and defensive ends, helping to set up Bellingham’s first goal.

– CM: 7.5/10 Aurelien Tchouameni**
After being shifted to center-back after Asencio’s red card, he got into the game after struggling early on and played well.

–  Federico Valverde (CM): 8.5/10
showed incredible talent and intensity in midfield, putting up a lot of effort and earning a goal that was well-earned.