Real Madrid went in with all the favoritism they could muster to pick up their first three points and secured a 3-1 win at the Hard Rock Stadium against Pachuca. However, the fact that the Liga MX side suffered defeat turned out to be a major disappointment for all fans of Mexican soccer in general.
Xabi Alonso's team advanced their lines to fit their players against Mexico's marking system, but things looked like they were going to get very difficult when Raúl Asensio (the worst player in the Club World Cup among European teams so far) was rightfully sent off after a very stupid foul on Rondon.
Pachuca took advantage of their numerical superiority and put Real Madrid under a lot of pressure, creating great chances to score, with Kenedy and John Kennedy being the main marksmen. However, the Liga MX side's lack of goalscoring is a serious problem, and it proved costly as Real were punished severely in the first major opportunity.
After withstanding the pressure with one player less, Xabi Alonso's side opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Arda Guler received the ball from Gonzalo and laid it off for Jude Bellingam to hit a firm cross. Shortly afterwards, Alexander-Arnold triangulated with Gonzalo García and Arda Guller, who hit a cross to extend the lead in a coming together of players reminiscent of Bayer Leverkusen's best moments.
After the break, Pachuca once again tried to be aggressive and John Kennedy looked very good in the first few minutes with some great shots that required fine saves from Courtois. However, Pachuca again failed to take advantage of their opportunities and Real Madrid sealed the win with Valverde taking advantage of a pass from Vinícius Júnior to finish. Before the final whistle, Montiel reduced the deficit with a shot that deflected off Tchouameni.
Pachuca fails to make an impact at the Club World Cup
Pachuca unfortunately didn't manage to show anything very different from what we've seen over the last few months in Liga MX. Even if they have been competitive at times, the early exit in the group stage leaves an extremely bitter taste for the club's management. And to top it all off, a serious accusation of racism involving Correa against Rudiger was all that Pachuca didn't need in this farewell.