Real Madrid beat Egyptian club Al Ahly 4-1 to secure their position in the Club World Cup finals.
The match which was played at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, on Wednesday, saw Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo, and Sergio Arribas scoring the four goals.
The Spanish club will next face Al Hilal for the finals on Saturday. The Saudi Club had earlier won Flamengo 3-2 on Tuesday.
Real Madrid has won the Club World Cup title seven times and might be paving the way to crown it the eighth. The last time they won was in 2018.
The last time a non-European team won the Club World Cup was in 2012 in Japan, when Brazil’s Corinthians beat Chelsea 1-0.
Al Ahly, who beat MLS side Seattle Sounders and New Zealand’s Auckland City on the way to the semifinals, stayed tight at the back and Madrid initially toiled to break them down.
Vinícius opened the gate of goals in the 42nd minute, making it his 50th goal in 202 matches with Real Madrid. Valverde added to the lead early in the second half.
Al Ahly’s Ali Maaloul scored the only goal for his club, before Rodrygo and Arribas added two extra goals for Madrid in stoppage time., sealing the deal It was the first goal for 21-year-old Arribas with Madrid’s first team.
Feeling motivated by his team’s performance, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said; “We lowered the intensity and suffered a bit, but in the end, we could manage it, we go into the final very motivated.”
Madrid did not travel to Morocco with six of their players due to injuries. They include striker Karim Benzema, defender Éder Militão and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
According to the coach, Benzema and Militão will play in the finals but Courtois, forward Eden Hazard and defenders Ferland Mendy and Lucas Vázquez will not.
Madrid had won only two of their last seven matches in a stint that included defeat against rivals Barcelona in theSpanish Super Cup finalin Saudi Arabia.
