Mbappe on target as Real Madrid downs Dortmund to reach Club World Cup semis
Garcia, 21, put Madrid ahead from close range early on a hot afternoon at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City, and Fran Garcia then doubled his club's lead before the midway point in the first half.
Dortmund never seriously threatened a comeback before a remarkable late flurry of activity, with Maximilian Beier pulling one back in the 93rd minute and Mbappe getting Madrid's third with a stunning overhead kick.
Serhou Guirassy then completed the scoring with a penalty after Real's Dean Huijsen was sent off, before the full-time whistle finally blew.
"Everything was going under control with the result, not conceding much, but the last 10 minutes (were) kind of crazy, when we lost a little bit our shape, our intensity ... but overall a good 80 minutes and the last 10 minutes to improve," Real coach Xabi Alonso told broadcaster DAZN.
Alonso's side finds itself in the semifinals despite Mbappe still not having started a game at the tournament.
The France superstar, who did not play during the group stage due to illness, will now hope to start for the first time when Real takes on his old club in a fascinating last-four showdown at the same venue on Wednesday.
"It will be a great challenge for us to face PSG, but let's take positives from today and move on for the next one," Alonso added.
Whoever emerges victorious from that match will be the favorite to win the inaugural edition of FIFA's expanded competition, with Chelsea playing Fluminense in the other semifinal.
Saturday's match, watched by a crowd of 76,611, was a repeat of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final, which Real won 2-0.
But while the Spanish club needed two late goals to claim victory then, this time it seemed to have got the job done early after Alonso sprang something of a surprise tactically, ditching his three-man central defense for a back four.
Julian Brandt was not far away from giving the German side the lead, but instead it was Real that went in front in the 10th minute.
Garcia had scored three times in Madrid's first four matches at the Club World Cup, including the winner against Juventus in the last 16.
He stole in between two defenders to meet an Arda Guler cross at the near post and make it 1-0 to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd.
The summer heat contributed to the slow pace of the contest, but Real also effectively killed off Dortmund's hopes by scoring again in the 20th minute.
Patient build-up play on the right involving the imperious Jude Bellingham and Gonzalo ended with the two fullbacks combining as a low Trent Alexander-Arnold cutback was swept in by Fran Garcia.
Real should have scored more goals before halftime, with Bellingham — deprived of the chance to face his brother Jobe who was suspended — firing just wide after a nice move by Vinicius Junior.
The latter sent a shot wide when he tried to surprise Gregor Kobel from the edge of the box, while Aurelien Tchouameni cracked an effort off the woodwork just past the hour mark, albeit there was an offside earlier in the move.
Dortmund could have made a real comeback attempt had halftime substitute Beier scored at the other end just before that, although its hopes were briefly raised late on.
Beier made it 2-1 three minutes into time added on as he controlled a poor clearance and fired past Thibaut Courtois.
Mbappe, who came on for Bellingham midway through the second half, then scored his 44th club goal since the start of the season with an overhead effort at the back post from a Guler cross.
Then Guirassy was brought down at the other end, leading to defender Huijsen being sent off. Guirassy scored the penalty to make it 3-2 with his 38th of the season.
"It is a deserved win for Real Madrid," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.
"We showed our qualities and it is not a failure if you go home after a defeat against them."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Mbappe and PSG set for Club World Cup reunion as Real Madrid eyes final
Kylian Mbappe will come up against Paris Saint-Germain for the first time since leaving the French club a year ago as Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid revolution gets its biggest test yet in Wednesday's Club World Cup semifinal. Mbappe should be remembered as a PSG legend, having spent seven prolific campaigns there and eventually departing as the team's all-time top scorer with 256 goals in 308 games. But his legacy was a little tainted by the manner of his departure, the sense among many that for the last half of his time in Paris he was just waiting for the right moment to move to Madrid, the club he had dreamed of representing as a young boy. PSG, under its Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi, was not happy with the way in which Mbappe chose to run down his contract in order to sign for Real in 2024, denying it a transfer fee. A bitter legal dispute has gone on between the parties for much of the time since, with Mbappe claiming he is owed €55 million ($64.4 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses from his spell in Paris. The latest twist came just this week, when one of Mbappe's lawyers said that the France captain had withdrawn a complaint of moral harassment against his former employers. That was after the Paris prosecutor's office revealed last month that an investigation had been opened following a complaint by the player over the way he was treated by PSG in the summer of 2023. He believes he was sidelined by PSG and made to train with players the club was looking to offload after refusing to agree a new contract. Mbappe missed a preseason tour to Japan and the start of the next campaign before eventually being reintegrated into Luis Enrique's squad. All of that should have been behind Mbappe long ago, given the way his first season at Real has gone on a personal level. The 26-year-old, a World Cup winner in 2018, scored 43 goals in 56 matches for his new club across all competitions up to the end of the campaign in La Liga, a remarkable tally. However, Mbappe has endured frustration at the Club World Cup, not featuring at all during the group stage due to a stomach bug which led to him requiring hospital treatment. In his absence, young forward Gonzalo Garcia has made the step up in impressive fashion, starting all five matches in the United States and scoring four goals. The last of those was the opener in the 3-2 quarterfinal win over Borussia Dortmund at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday, but it was Mbappe who got what was ultimately the deciding goal. He came off the bench midway through the second half and scored a brilliant, acrobatic overhead kick for Real's third of the afternoon in stoppage time. "He is still not perfect, not 100%, but he is getting better every day," Alonso said of Mbappe after that match. "Now he will have three days to keep progressing and feeling better ahead of the semifinal." It is hard to imagine Mbappe not getting his first start of the tournament against PSG, the club that won the Champions League in the season following his departure after so many years of disappointment in Europe with him in the team. PSG came to the U.S. fresh from crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. The team reached the last four with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in Atlanta in the last eight — despite having Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez sent off — and need not fear Real. "It doesn't matter who we play in the semifinals. All that matters is that we are there and that we want to get to the final," said Luis Enrique, for whom this is also a special occasion given that he spent five years at Madrid as a player in the 1990s. Alonso has just taken over as Real coach after an outstanding spell with Bayer Leverkusen and has already displayed great tactical flexibility, flitting between a back four and a three-man central defense at the tournament. It will be fascinating to see which system he opts for here, and if Mbappe starts as he prepares to play against PSG for the first time since July 2017, when he was still a thrilling teenager at Monaco.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Padres' Yu Darvish to make season debut against Diamondbacks
There was good news on and off the field for the San Diego Padres on Sunday night. Not only did they win a weekend series with the Texas Rangers by picking up a 4-1 decision, they regained the services of the pitcher who would have been their Opening Day starter before elbow problems sidelined him during spring training. That pitcher, Yu Darvish, will be activated Monday to start the opener of a four-game series with the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. The 38-year old Darvish cleared the final hurdles to return to action for his 2025 debut with four innings in a simulated game Tuesday and a short bullpen session on Saturday. "We always have an open day on the schedule for Yu Darvish to start," San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. "So we're excited to have that happen. It really did get back to him just checking all the boxes." Darvish went 7-3 in 16 starts last year, recording a 3.31 ERA, and struck out 78 batters in 81⅔ innings. He was sidelined for about half the year with an elbow injury, followed by time away to attend to a personal matter. Darvish's return comes at an opportune time for the Padres, who have been stretched thin in the rotation by injuries to Opening Day starter Michael King and Triple-A call-up Ryan Bergert. Dylan Cease, a 14-game winner last season, has scuffled most of this year, going 3-8 with a 4.62 ERA. But San Diego remains in the National League's final wild-card spot, thanks largely to Nick Pivetta's career year. The All-Star snub is 9-2 with a 3.25 ERA. Darvish is 9-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 19 career starts against Arizona. It's likely he'll be limited to 75 pitches and perhaps five innings on Monday. The Diamondbacks will counter with right-hander Zac Gallen (6-9, 5.45 ERA), their Opening Day starter who's endured the roughest season of his seven-year career. He looked more like himself Tuesday in an 8-2 win over San Francisco, striking out 10 and allowing just one earned run over seven innings. Gallen is 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 13 career starts against the Padres, although he's yielded 12 homers in 74⅔ innings. Arizona stands 4½ games behind San Diego for the final NL wild-card spot after a 4-0 loss Sunday to Kansas City ended a 10-game homestand at 3-7. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said being swept last weekend by Miami set the tone for the homestand. "You go 3-7 at home in a space we feel very comfortable playing in with great fans and it doesn't work out? It's really frustrating," he said. The Diamondbacks own one of MLB's best and most powerful offenses, ranking third in runs at 461 and third in homers at 132. But their pitching staff has been poor, as it enters this series 26th in ERA at 4.72 while rating 22nd in batting average and 22nd in WHIP. The loss of major offseason acquisition Corbin Burnes (elbow injury) and three starters with ERAs over 5.00 hasn't helped. Arizona took two of three games from the Padres last month in Phoenix.
Japan Times
19 hours ago
- Japan Times
Youthful Chelsea ready for Thiago Silva reunion at Club World Cup
Chelsea's young side is targeting a place in the final of the Club World Cup when it takes on Fluminense in the last four on Tuesday, with the Brazilian team marshaled by former Blues defender Thiago Silva who is still going strong at the age of 40. Silva was already a veteran when he signed for Chelsea in 2020 before going on to have an impressive four-year stint at Stamford Bridge. One of the finest center-backs of his generation, Silva arrived after eight years at Paris Saint-Germain and in his first season at Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League. He played 155 games for the London club and left 12 months ago after helping oversee the development of some of the young talents now featuring regularly under Enzo Maresca. "He's a legend of football, a top player," Marc Cucurella, a teammate of Silva's for two years, told English media, adding that the two had exchanged messages about their impending reunion. "We have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully we can do good things, win this game and play in the final." Silva initially made his name at Fluminense, featuring in the team that reached the Copa Libertadores final in 2008 before losing to LDU Quito of Ecuador. He returned there upon leaving Chelsea, once again pulling on the green, red and white of the Rio de Janeiro outfit who won the Copa Libertadores in 2023. The evergreen Brazil international was then reunited earlier this year with Renato Gaucho, the coach in 2008 who is now in his sixth spell in charge. An impressive run at the Club World Cup has seen Fluminense hold Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, eliminate Inter Milan in the last 16 and get the better of Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal in the quarterfinals. "If you had asked me beforehand if we would have got this far I would have said we were a long way away from doing so," Silva told broadcaster DAZN after the victory over Al Hilal. "We know the financial size of these teams, the difference is enormous, absurd. But often our collective, the family atmosphere that we have, gives us strength that you maybe don't think you have." It is not just Silva raising the average age at Fluminense. There is also 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio, wing-back Samuel Xavier at 35 and 37-year-old Argentine forward German Cano. But the man giving them the X-factor is 27-year-old Colombian winger Jhon Arias, unquestionably one of the players of the tournament. "I have watched some games that they have played and you can see that they are very well organized. They have some very good players. The manager is doing a fantastic job," Maresca said as he prepares to face Brazilian opposition for the third time at the tournament. The team lost to Flamengo in the group stage but beat Palmeiras in the quarterfinals in Philadelphia. "The energy from Brazilian teams in this competition has been high — probably the reason why is because they are at the start of their season while we are finished the season," Maresca added. Chelsea now get their first taste of the MetLife Stadium, the hulking 82,500-capacity venue in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York City. Many of Maresca's players may not have been sure what to make of FIFA's new tournament which came at the end of a campaign in which they finished fourth in the Premier League and won the UEFA Conference League. But suddenly they stand one game from the final, in which they would face either Real Madrid or PSG. With Silva gone, Maresca has been working with a young squad at Chelsea, and the average age of his starting lineup against Palmeiras last Friday was just 24. There are more young players coming in too, with 23-year-old Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, formerly of Fluminense, making his debut in the quarterfinals. Brazil prodigy Estevao Willian, 18, will join from Palmeiras ahead of next season and 20-year-old winger Jamie Gittens has just signed from Borussia Dortmund. Moises Caicedo, the midfield linchpin who is still only 23, will return to the midfield against Fluminense after suspension.
