Real Madrid won their fifth Club World Cup on Saturday with an emphatic 5-3 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde both netted twice, with Karim Benzema also getting in on the fun in what was a thoroughly entertaining affair from start to finish.
Benzema could have easily tapped Real into an early lead when Dani Carvajal’s cross found him unmarked just a few yards out from goal, but the Frenchman, who had strayed offside anyway, somehow kicked the ball into his standing foot and wasted the opportunity.
Vinicius made no such mistake soon after. Benzema’s through-ball sent the winger through on goal and he fired his effort into the back of the net.
The second came from Valverde, who fired home a volley which took a few bobbles en route to nestling in the back of the net.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, however, and Moussa Marega pulled one back on the counter for Al Hilal midway through the half with the Saudi side’s first shot on target.
The match became far more even after the goal and Marega got another shot off soon after, although Antonio Rudiger had forced him wide enough to neutralise any real threat.
Benzema missed another chance from close range before the half was out, with Real noticeably sloppy both in possession and in the final third, but he did find the back of the net eight minutes after the break.
The Frenchman ran on to a perfect cross from Vinicius and could hardly miss from a few yards out, rifling into the top corner to restore Real’s two-goal advantage.
Before the celebrations had stopped, Real had a fourth. It was a second for Valverde, who collected Carvajal’s pass and dinked it over Abdullah Al Muaiouf to extinguish any slim hopes of an unlikely upset.
The Saudi side refused to give up and did grab another goal back as Luciano Vietto raced through to chip Lunin and add a bit more drama to the game… before Vinicius curled in a fifth with 20 minutes to go.
Vietto struck again with another excellent finish with ten minutes to go, before Marega missed an open goal with a volley that he skewed wide of the post.
That would be the last real chance Al Hilal could manage as Real held on to earn themselves yet another trophy for the cabinet.
GK: Andriy Lunin – 4/10 – Looks low on confidence and fans online shared his lack of optimism every time he got involved.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 7/10 – A major threat going forward and secured a well-deserved assist for the fourth goal.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 5/10 – Mixed results…
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