Real Madrid survive Dortmund scare to reach Club World Cup semis
Real Madrid edged past Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a dramatic Club World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday to set up a last-four clash with Paris St Germain.
The Spanish giants stamped their authority on the match early at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, dominating possession and opening a two-goal lead thanks to strikes by Gonzalo and Fran Garcia in the 10th and 20th minutes.
Gonzalo, the 21-year-old forward continuing his breakout tournament, opened the scoring with a close-range volley from Arda Guler's cross.
Ten minutes later, Garcia doubled Real's lead, arriving at the far post to turn in Trent Alexander-Arnold's low delivery after an incisive move down the right.
Kylian Mbappé smashes it beyond Kobel 🚀 #SSFootball | #FIFACWC | #CWC2025 pic.twitter.com/J8soqXJozR
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) July 5, 2025
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. squandered chances to extend Real's lead before halftime, while Aurelien Tchouameni came closest in the second half, rattling the crossbar with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
Despite the reduced intensity of play in New Jersey's scorching heat, Real comfortably saw out the match, leaving Dortmund unable to mount a comeback until the game exploded into life in 10 minutes of mayhem in added time.
Substitute Maximilian Beier pounced on a rebound in the 93rd minute to pull one back for Dortmund, but a minute later Kylian Mbappé restored Real's two-goal cushion with a stunning volley.
Dortmund refused to back down, however, and Serhou Guirassy's pace saw him break through Real's defence only to be pulled down in the box by Dean Huijsen.
Real Madrid have a special talent on their hands ⚪🙌
📺 Stream #FIFACWC on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/ZpmETDtzbB
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) July 5, 2025
The defender was shown a straight red card, ruling him out of the semifinal, and Guirassy coolly converted the resulting spot-kick to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Dortmund came within inches of forcing extra time when in the ninth minute of added time Thibaut Courtois produced a sensational save to deny Marcel Sabitzer's powerful strike.
'We were doing really well and the match looked under control but then in the last 10 minutes things got crazy,' Real manager Xabi Alonso told DAZN.
'We have lost a little bit our focus and intensity when we didn't have the ball and luckily nothing else happened. But overall we have had good 80 minutes and the last 10 minutes to improve.'
Real Madrid now turn their attention to PSG, who defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 to book their place in the semifinals. The winners of that clash will face Fluminense or Chelsea, who meet on Tuesday, in the final.
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