Alonso's Real Madrid
The transformation continues to improve and become more comprehensive. Real Madrid once again demonstrated a major step forward in their transformation process when competing in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 .
Gonzalo continues his impressive form. Photo: Imago
In the quarter-final match, Real Madrid completely dominated Borussia Dortmund in regular time.
"Los Blancos" had an excellent start and almost finished off their opponents within the first 20 minutes with goals from Gonzalo Garcia and Fran Garcia.
Luis Enrique's team reached the semi-finals, where they faced Luis Enrique's PSG – the most recent Champions League winners.
Right in his first press conference at Valdebebas, Xabi Alonso said that he wanted his team to make the fans "feel proud" .
"We want to convey emotion, joy, so that people can say, 'This is the team I love, this is my Real Madrid' ," Alonso emphasized.
In the first half at MetLife Stadium, Real Madrid did exactly that: full of emotion, overflowing with joy, and unstoppable.
Real Madrid played their best minutes of the season – a trend that was repeated and improved with each match and each training session – and controlled the game in a way they hadn't done in a long time.
In New Jersey, two names stood out: those with the surname Garcia: Gonzalo and Fran – the authors of the two goals that confirmed Madrid's dominance.
Fran Garcia also scored a goal. Photo: FEF
This stems from Xabi Alonso's next tactical change. The Spanish coach, after using a three-centre-back formation in the last two matches, has moved Tchouameni back to a defensive midfield role, specifically tasked with marking Brandt – Dortmund's most important attacking threat.
In defense, Trent was pushed into the role of a third center-back, while Valverde occupied the right flank to mark the speedy Adeyemi.
This tactic left Dortmund completely ineffective, unable to find space to attack and struggling in defense.
However, Arda Guler was the driving force in the game, constantly pressing alongside Tchouameni and Bellingham, in addition to the attacking runs of Fran and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Explosive and trembling
The opening goal came from a Guler assist for Gonzalo, who tapped the ball in at close range in the 10th minute. The Turkish player is demonstrating composure, vision, and accurate passing.
Real Madrid maintained the intensity of their pressing and precision in their passing combinations, constantly swapping positions in midfield, making intelligent off-ball movements, and exploiting the spaces behind Dortmund's defense .
Mbappe scored in a style reminiscent of an acrobat. Photo: EFE
In the 20th minute, Real Madrid attacked down the right wing with intricate passing sequences reminiscent of rondo drills in training, patiently waiting for their opportunity. Gonzalo opened the play, Trent penetrated the penalty area and delivered a low cross for Fran Garcia to rush in and finish.
Dortmund collapsed. Bellingham had a chance to make it 3-0 but his shot went wide. Vinicius also had a chance from a through ball by Guler but his lob went over the crossbar.
After the break, Madrid deliberately slowed down the pace, seemingly focusing on bigger goals, so Dortmund gradually gained more possession, but failed to create any real danger for Courtois.
The match was largely played out in the midfield, with Madrid maintaining tight control and only conceding Dortmund's first shot on target in the 61st minute.
Alonso began making adjustments with PSG in mind: Bellingham and Vinicius, bringing on Mbappe and Modric.
Just when everything seemed settled, Rudiger made a mistake in a clearance, allowing Beier to score and reduce the deficit to 1-2 in the 92nd minute.
Dortmund staged a comeback, scoring two goals in chaotic injury time. Photo: Imago
The match descended into real chaos. Mbappe scored to make it 3-1 with an acrobatic finish, and then immediately afterwards Huijsen fouled Guirassy by pulling him back in the penalty area – resulting in a penalty and a direct red card.
Guirassy scored from the penalty spot, putting Dortmund one goal ahead. In the final moments, Dortmund nearly equalized with a Sabitzer strike to force the game into extra time – at which point, they held the advantage.
That's when Courtois shone. The Belgian goalkeeper made a spectacular save and secured the victory for Real Madrid.
“Perhaps what happened at the last minute was a good thing for us ,” Alonso said, seeing it as a lesson ahead of the match against PSG – who were also without Lucas Hernandez and Willian Pacho due to red cards in the Bayern Munich game.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-ha-dortmund-3-2-run-ray-vao-ban-ket-club-world-cup-2418730.html
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