Real Madrid beat Al Ahly to set up Club World Cup final date with Al Hilal

Carlo Ancelotti’s side scored three second-half goals to ease to victory

Pa Sport Staff
Thursday 09 February 2023 03:39 EST
Comments
Reaction after Real Madrid thrash Al Ahly 4-1 to reach FIFA Club World Cup final

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Real Madrid reached the Club World Cup final with a 4-1 victory over Al Ahly.

Goals from Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas sealed the win at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

Ali Maaloul’s spot-kick briefly made Madrid sweat but they reached Saturday’s final – where they face Al Hilal – and could even afford Luka Modric’s late penalty miss.

Hussein El Shahat tested Andriy Lunin – in for the injured Thibaut Courtois – but Madrid grabbed the lead through Vinicius.

The striker had already hit the post before he opened the scoring three minutes before the break.

Al Ahly midfielder Aliou Dieng directed a weak header back towards goal and Vinicius cashed in to beat Mohamed El Shenawy.

Valverde doubled the lead soon after the break when he slotted in after Rodrygo’s effort was saved.

Al Ahly reduced the deficit after 64 minutes when Eduardo Camavinga brought down El Shahat in the box and Maaloul converted the penalty.

Madrid could have restored their two-goal advantage with three minutes left when Vinicius was ruled to have been felled in the box.

It appeared the striker slipped but El Shenawy saved Modric’s spot-kick.

Yet Carlo Ancelotti’s side did add a third in stoppage time when Rodrygo combined with Dani Ceballos to wrap up the win.

Substitute Arribas then added the flourish with a minute of injury time left when he fired in from a Camavinga pass.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in