Real Madrid Triumphs 3-1 Over Pachuca Despite Playing With 10 Men in Club World Cup Clash

Jun, 27 2025

Real Madrid Survives Early Red Card to Overcome Pachuca in Club World Cup Thriller

Just when it looked like trouble, Real Madrid did the unexpected: they won with style and grit after losing a defender early. On the hot Charlotte turf at Bank of America Stadium, Xabi Alonso’s side found themselves a man down inside the opening 20 minutes when Raúl Asencio saw red for a last-man foul. One less player? Against a Pachuca team desperate to stay alive in the group? Didn’t matter.

If you just checked the stats, you’d think Pachuca walked this one. They racked up 25 shots to Madrid’s 8. They unleashed 11 efforts on target compared to only 3 from the Spanish giants. But stats rarely tell the real story. Madrid stayed calm, stuck together, and punished Pachuca in the moments that mattered.

Clinical Madrid: Efficiency Over Volume

With so much at stake in Group H, Real Madrid didn’t blink when they were shorthanded. Instead, engine-man Jude Bellingham set the tone late in the first half, slotting home after a quick move that exposed the space left by Pachuca’s all-out attack. And just before the break, Arda Güler curled a beauty past the Pachuca keeper, doubling the lead and sucking the oxygen out of the Mexican side’s comeback hopes.

The second half brought more Pachuca pressure. But for all their possession, they just couldn’t beat Real Madrid’s towering keeper Thibault Courtois. He was everywhere—parrying long shots, blocking close-range flicks, keeping his gloves almost glued to the ball. When Madrid countered in the 70th minute, Federico Valverde finished a slick combination with Brahim Díaz, making it 3-0 and all but ending the match as a contest.

Pachuca did get one back—Elias Montiel’s effort took a wicked deflection past Courtois in the 80th minute, a small reward for their attacking intent. But every other attack faded against Madrid’s backs-to-the-wall defense. The Mexican side crashed out of the tournament having been better on paper than on grass—two group defeats despite outshooting their opponents by miles.

Madrid now sit on four points, with their fate in their own hands. A single point against RB Salzburg next week and their place in the knockouts is guaranteed. That wasn’t always a sure thing when they lost Asencio so early, but football’s not a math class. It’s about making your moments count, and no team showed that better than Madrid did tonight.