Real Madrid, jostled at times, qualified for the Club World Cup final by beating Egyptian club Al-Ahly 4-1 on Wednesday in Rabat. The Spaniards will aim for a fifth world crown on Saturday against the Saudis of Al-Hilal, surprising fallers the day before the Brazilians of Flamengo.
Real goes logically in the final after his victory against the Egyptian club Al-Ahly in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup. The Merengues can thus dream of a 5th victory in this Club World Cup. Led by an excellent Rodrygo and sometimes saved by Lunin, Ancelotti’s players were however put in difficulty by a valiant formation from Al-Ahly.
Deprived of Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois, injured, Real opened the scoring in the 42nd minute by Vinicius, who took advantage of an error by defender Mahmoud Metwaly to deceive the experienced Mohamed El-Shenawy (34) with a nice stung ball.
The break at the end of the match
Returning from the locker room, Federico Valverde doubled the bet by taking a shot from Rodrygo repelled by the Egyptian goalkeeper (47th). But the Egyptians reduced the penalty mark by Ali Maaloul (65th) and El-Shenawy stopped a penalty not strong enough from Luka Modric (86th). At the end of the match, Rodrygo (90+2) then Sergio Arribas (90+8) sealed Real’s qualification.
The 2022 European champions are having a complicated start to the year 2023, with a defeat in the Spanish Supercup in mid-January and several poor performances in the league, including a defeat on Sunday in Mallorca (1-0). Second in La Liga, Real is already eight points behind the leader, FC Barcelona.
Source: Europe1
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
