Sports, FIFA Club World Cup.
Carlos Medrano Araujo
February 13, 2023
Captain Karim Benzema lifts the FIFA Club World Cup trophy for Real Madrid after beating Al-Hilal 5-3. Photo: AFP
Real Madrid wins the FIFA Club World Cup for the fifth time in less than a decade after defeating Arabian champions Al-Hilal with a score of 5-3, making "Los Blancos" the top-winning team in the tournament history.
A brilliant Vinicius Jr. was decisive by opening the scoring at minute 12 and closing it at minute 69. In addition, the Brazilian winger was named Best Player of the Tournament.
Federico Valverde scored a brace also in minutes 18’ and 58’, and Karim Benzema completed the five goals scored by Real Madrid.
Moussa Marega at minute 26’ and Luciano Vietto with a brace at 63’ and 79’ scored for Al-Hilal.
The attendance at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco witnessed how Real Madrid became the most successful team in the history of the FIFA Club World Cup.
A triangulation between Valverde, Benzema, and Vinicius Jr. put the Brazilian in front of Al-Maiouf to define clearly and accurately.
Then a low cross from the right by Luka Modric was rejected to the center first by Al-Maiouf and then headed by Jang, but the ball was left point blank by Valverde who shot hard into the center for the 2-0 lead.
In an oversight by Camavinga on the last line, a filtered pass to the center put Marega in front of Lunin, Marega without hesitation shot hard to the center to beat the goalie of "Los Merengues" and make it 2-1, for the discount from Al Hilal.
In the second half, Vinicius Jr. brought out his magic and with a masterful pass with the outside of the booty he assisted 2022 GoldenBall winner Karim Benzema who defined an empty goal.
A few minutes later, Dani Carvajal began to connect with Federico Valverde on the right side, and between walls and passes they managed to put the Uruguayan in front of the Al-Hilal goal, without hesitating he crossed the shot to beat the goal again and make it 4-1 for Real Madrid.
At minute 63', the Argentine Luciano Vietto lifted the ball to beat Lunin, discounting Al-Hilal again with a 4-2 score. But only four minutes later, Vinicius Jr. appeared again after receiving a ball from Dani Ceballos and finishing with a first touch with a thread to the goalkeeper's far post, for a resounding 5-2 in favor of the Spanish giants.
In the 69th minute, Cuéllar's pressure on Camavinga paid off and allowed Michael to steal the ball, reach the bottom of the field and pass to Luciano Vietto, who controlled the ball and in a 180-degree turn, cleared the way for Carvajal to define on goal empty. It was 5-3 for the Al-Hilal discount again.
In the 80th minute, Michael shot on goal and Lunin stopped the ball, Luciano Vietto could not connect with the ball and went towards Marega who shot wide with an empty goal. It would have meant 5-4 for Al-Hilal.
This was the third time that the Asian representative managed to reach the FIFA Club World Cup Final, The first being the Japanese Kashima Antlers in 2016 and then the Emirati Al-Ain in 2018. All the Asian representatives lost their finals against Real Madrid.
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