Real Madrid secured their passage to the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium, extending their impressive unbeaten run in the competition to 14 games. The win marks back-to-back successes for Real Madrid under new coach Xabi Alonso, signaling a promising start to his tenure.
The match began with Juventus applying early pressure, pinning Madrid in their own half. Real Madrid were fortunate not to concede within the opening 10 minutes when Randal Kolo Muani broke clear on goal, but his audacious chip over Thibaut Courtois landed on the roof of the net. Moments later, Kenan Yıldız’s long-range strike took a wicked deflection off Aurelien Tchouameni, whistling inches wide of the post, further testing Madrid’s resolve.
It took Real Madrid 30 minutes to create a significant scoring opportunity, and when it arrived, they were unlucky not to take the lead. Jude Bellingham, a constant threat, burst behind the Juventus defence, only to see his poked effort saved by Michele Di Gregorio and then cleared off the line by Daniele Rugani. Di Gregorio then produced an even more spectacular save on the stroke of half-time, leaping across his goal to turn Federico Valverde’s powerful 30-yard strike around the post.
Valverde continued to be a threat in the second half, reacting quickest to a loose ball inside the area and curling an effort narrowly wide of the target. However, this proved to be a temporary reprieve for Juventus.
Real Madrid finally broke the deadlock through a moment of quality. Trent Alexander-Arnold, increasingly settling into his role as a Galactico, delivered a trademark cross onto the head of Gonzalo Garcia, who expertly nodded home the opener.
The jubilation continued for Madrid as they welcomed back Kylian Mbappé, who made his first CWC appearance after recovering from acute gastroenteritis. His impact was almost instantaneous, as he was involved in setting up Arda Güler, whose low effort was thwarted by the legs of Di Gregorio.
Despite Di Gregorio’s heroics throughout the match, Juventus were unable to find an equalizer and ultimately crashed out of the CWC in the last 16 on their debut in the competition.
Real Madrid now progresses to the last eight, appearing to gather significant momentum, having extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to seven games.
