Three talking points from Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca

Real Madrid turned up the heat and proved why they are a force to be reckoned with against Pachuca on matchday 2 of the FIFA Club World Cup, taking all three points despite facing a massive disadvantage.

The men in white were reduced to ten men early in the game and were forced to play a man down for a great part of the night. The Mexican opposition, however, were no match even for Real Madrid’s ten-man dominance.

The game is massive for Xabi Alonso as it marks his first win as the Real Madrid manager and a positive start to his journey towards a possible first-ever trophy in his new position.

For the team, moreover, the importance of the win cannot be understated as it brings with it massive repercussions in terms of the standings.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points from Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca.

Raul Asencio did not have the best of starts to the Club World Cup against Al-Hilal as he gave away a crucial penalty that forced Los Blancos to split points. The event brought serious questions on his efficiency for he did not look particularly imposing for great parts of the game.

Last night, the youngster started once more and his horror show only furthered as he was sent off within the opening ten minutes.

With just seven minutes on the clock, Asencio jumped into a professional last-man challenge, a decision that is simply inexplicable to take. Caught off guard, he took down a Pachuca player through on goal knowing well he would be sent off and thus left the team with ten men.

Real Madrid may indeed have gone on to win, but Asencio rightly deserves criticism for his poor decision-making which could have cost the team seriously. After all, this is the second consecutive game that his decision has made the team suffer.

Given that Antonio Rudiger made his comeback from injury, Alonso could well shift the German back into the starting lineup alongside Dean Huijsen who once again enjoyed a great game. The Rudiger-Huijsen combination could be Real Madrid’s go-to pairing at the back.

For Asencio, the chances will keep coming but the player has shown nothing to the new manager in two games to suggest that he deserves to be a starter.

Stepping up. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

On a night when Kylian Mbappe was unavailable and Real Madrid were a man down, the Merengues needed someone to step up and take responsibility in the final third.

Vinicius Jr. and Gonzalo Garcia started in the final third for Los Blancos and both players did not have poor outings in any sense. However, neither managed to find the back of the net against Pachuca and it was the midfield that stepped up and provided the winning blows.

Alonso opted for a four-man midfield on the night with Federico Valverde, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni all starting for the men in white. Three of them, in the end, had their names on the scoreboard and were the only goal scorers on the night.

It was Bellingham who opened the scoring in the 35th minute after he made complete use of Fran Garcia’s assist with a clean strike. Less than ten minutes later, Guler had his name on the scoresheet with a clean shot from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Valverde, the captain, added the finishing touches in the 70th minute with a rather quiet but important goal from close range, sealing the deal.

Real Madrid extracted the best they could out of Matchday 2 as both results in their group played out in their favour.

A win over Pachuca, after all, took their tally to four points in two games and they currently sit in first place in the standings of Group H of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The second game, between RB Salzburg and Al-Hilal, ended in a draw, leaving the German and Saudi Arabian sides on four and two points respectively.

Heading into the third and final matchday of the competition, Los Blancos are in pole position to quality as group toppers should they atleast pick up a point against Salzburg.

There is, however, a small chance the Merengues still fail to make it through if they lose to the German opposition in their next game.

After all, Al-Hilal are expected to climb to five points with a win over Pachuca and Real Madrid thus require at least a point midweek.