Real Madrid asserts their dominance against CF Pachuca

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Referee Ramon Abatt shows a red card to Real Madrid's Raul Asencio during the Club World Cup Group H match between Real Madrid and CF Pachuca at Bank of America Stadium on June 22.

Real Madrid flexed its muscles in Charlotte.

Despite being down a man due to a red card for 83 minutes of the contest, the La Liga champions made easy work of Mexico’s FC Pachuca 3-1 in front of 70,248 fans at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. 

Real Madrid was a bit shaky after Raúl Asencio picked up the red card early, but it was star midfielder Jude Bellingham that settled the team down, scoring the first goal of the game with a great left footed shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, assisted by Federico Pereira. 

“It was obviously tough after Asencio got sent off,” Bellingham said. “He is a young defender so no harm in making that mistake. It was a test of our character and a test of our leadership. I think it was important whenever the manager decided we needed to change shape, and we all took that responsibility well and thought we all communicated well with each other to make it easier for the team.”

Pachuca controlled possession just 42.7% of the time playing at full strength and 25 total shot attempts (11 on goal). It appeared for a while that Real Madrid might keep a clean sheet until the 80th minute where Pachuca midfielder Eliás Montiel scored off a deflection. 

Real Madrid had just three shots on goal, and all made it to the back of the net. While Bellingham may have been named the player of the match, it could have just as easily been Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid’s goalkeeper. He had 10 saves, and one incredibly impressive double save where he stopped a shot, adjusted immediately and dove in the opposite direction to block another. 

What may even be more impressive than the result is that Real Madrid was without star striker Kylian Mbappé. He has been recovering from gastroenteritis and was hospitalized prior to the start of the Club World Cup. He did not play in the first two matches, but team manager Xabi Alonso is hopeful the star returns soon.

“We are looking forward to having him back,” Alonso said. “We are taking it day-by-day. It is important how he’s feeling. So, we will check on that, but we are waiting for him.” 
Alonso felt his team adapted well to the situation they found themselves in down a man but ideally doesn’t want it to happen moving forward. 

“We want to have a culture where we understand the situations of [the game],” he said. “We want to understand what it takes [to win] in each context and moment with strong principles. That intelligence gives you an edge. Today we understood [what we had to do] and it was really clear. From that [we had] a really strong performance.”

Real Madrid sits atop Group H thanks to RB Salzburg’s draw with Al-Hilal. Real Madrid and Salzburg will meet on June 26 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. 

Bundesliga's Bayern Munich will be in town on June 24 to face Primeira Liga’s S.L. Benfica in Group C.  

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