Three takeaways from Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund

Yahoo

18 hours ago

Real Madrid took down Borussia Dortmund last night and earned a place in the semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup in a game that really came to life in the final ten minutes.
With the score 2-0 in Los Blancos' favour in the 90th minute, it ended 3-2 in their favour after extra-time and it is clear that the added time was, by far, the most nerve-wracking period.
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Gonzalo Garcia, Fran Garcia, and Kylian Mbappe were on the scoreboard for Los Blancos while Sergio Guirassy and Maximilian Beier scored the consolation goals for the opponents.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund.
The Garcias keep impressing
A lot has been said about Gonzalo Garcia in recent weeks, especially after his breakout performances at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Game after game, the youngster has shown that he belongs at the highest level and that his flourish is no coincidence but a result of his talent and hard work.
After scoring the winner for Los Blancos against Juventus, he again found the back of the net in the quarterfinal last night against Borussia Dortmund to take his numbers to four goals and an assist in the competition.
The Garcia duo was on the scoresheet against Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by)
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While Kylian Mbappe did come on and score, Garcia is simply giving the manager no reason to drop him, and the fact that he is benching Mbappe itself is a testament to the quality he is showing.
Yet, Gonzalo was not the only Garcia who has impressed in this event, for Fran Garcia has equally upped his game and last night was a perfect example of how the player has evolved.
The left-back scored one goal for the men in white in his 90 minutes on the field, completed nine defensive actions, created one big chance, and racked up a key pass playing on the left side.
In Ferland Mendy's absence, Garcia has only proved why he is superior to his competitors and now puts a massive question mark on Los Blancos' pursuit of Alvaro Carreras.
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After all, his performances do not give the manager any reason to consider a change.
Into the semifinals
Real Madrid's win over Dortmund takes them one step closer to the FIFA Club World Cup title and leaves them as strong contenders to take home the bragging rights.
With just four teams now left in the competition, the men in white can well go on to win the tournament if they can continue playing the brand of football they have shown so far.
Real Madrid will face PSG in CWC semi-final. (Photo by)
Ironically, however, their biggest test will be in the semifinal and not the final given how the draw has placed matters.
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Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain locked horns in the other quarterfinal on Real Madrid's side of the draw and it was eventually the French side who came out on top on a night that was marred by Jamal Musiala's freak injury.
Los Blancos now face off against the European champions in the semifinal and will face either Chelsea or Palmeiras in the final of the competition should they progress. Needless to say, the winner of Real Madrid-PSG will be the favourite to take home the title.
An unnecessary handicap
Real Madrid's night was seemingly perfect until a very eventful extra time stole the show and left serious complications in the Merengues' result.
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With a comfortable 2-0 lead in the bag, Alonso's men were set to take home the win. However, Dortmund's relentless pressure helped them steal one goal back in the 92nd minute.
Real Madrid need to avoid defensive errors. (Photo by)
Kylian Mbappe then scored in the 94th minute and Dortmund again pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 98th minute. In between the two aforementioned goals, however, Dean Huijsen received his marching orders for a last-man foul.
With a 3-1 scoreline in Real Madrid's favour and just a few minutes left to play, it was quite unnecessary for the youngster to dive into a last-man challenge for the result was all but in the bag.
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His red card now means that he will be unavailable for the team's semifinal against PSG which is a massive blow. After all, he has been the team's best defender through the competition.
Xabi Alonso now has a dilemma on his hands, for the centre-back pairing against PSG will be crucial.
Raul Asencio is the first option who comes to mind but the youngster was dreadful in his few minutes in the competition. Rudiger too was far from impressive last night and Huijsen's dismissal, thus, may prove to have massive implications.