Real Too Much For Ahly To Handle In Club World Cup Semi

Real Madrid qualified for the Club World Cup final after defeating Egyptian giants Al-Ahly 4-1 on Wednesday in Rabat.

The Spanish outfit will aim for a fifth FIFA Club World Cup crown on Saturday against the Saudi side Al-Hilal, surprise finalists after leapfrogging Flamengo.

Merengues led by an excellent Rodrygo were utterly dominant.

Deprived of Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois, all injured, Real opened the scoring in the 42nd minute through Vinicius Junior who took advantage of an error by Mahmoud Metwaly to place beyond the reach Mohamed El-Shenawy at the 34th minute.

Three minutes after the game’s re-start of the second stanza, Federico Valverde doubled the advantage by pouncing on an initial shot from Rodrygo repelled by El Shenawy.

The 10-time CAF champions league winners halved deficit 5 minutes after the hour mark through Ali Maaloul, from 12-yards on the penalty spot.

The reigning European champions equally had a chancy of their own to score from the spot, but El-Shenawy stopped a pebaly from Luka Modric at the 86th minute.

The game was pushed well beyong the reach of Ahly in second half extra time.

Rodrygo’s effort (90+2) and another from Sergio Arribas (90+8) sealed Real’s qualification.

The record 14-times UEFA champions league winners had a complicated start to the year 2023, with a defeat in the Spanish Supercup in mid-January and several poor performances in the league, including a defeat on Sunday against Mallorca (1-0).

Second in La Liga, Real is already eight points behind the leaders, FC Barcelona. A win at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup could spring the Los Blancos to life. For Ahly, they continue with a battle for bronze against Flamengo on Saturday.