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Real Madrid Triumphs Over Pachuca in Club World Cup Clash Without Mbappé
In a heated night of football drama at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, Real Madrid claimed their first win of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Mexican side Pachuca 3-1 in a match that had everything: goals, controversy, and resilience.
Real Madrid came into this game under pressure after a shaky start to the tournament and without their star forward Kylian Mbappé, who is still recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis. With questions swirling about whether Los Blancos could deliver in his absence, Xabi Alonso’s side gave a clear and resounding answer.
The match started with a dramatic turn of events. Within just seven minutes, Real Madrid were reduced to 10 men when Raul Asencio was shown a straight red card for bringing down Salomon Rondon, who was racing through on goal. From that moment on, it looked like Madrid might be in for a long, difficult evening.
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But despite being a man down, Real Madrid held firm. Thibaut Courtois stood tall in goal, pulling off a series of crucial saves to deny Kenedy and Alan Bautista as Pachuca piled on the pressure. Then, in the 36th minute, the breakthrough came. Jude Bellingham, once again proving why he’s such a vital piece in Madrid’s setup, took a brilliant pass from Fran Garcia and smashed a low drive into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Madrid doubled their lead just before halftime through Arda Güler, whose pinpoint finish left Pachuca’s goalkeeper Carlos Moreno with no chance. At the break, it was 2-0 to the Spanish giants — an impressive lead considering the numerical disadvantage.
In the second half, Pachuca came out determined to mount a comeback, but Real weathered the storm. Then came the dagger. In the 71st minute, Federico Valverde executed a beautiful give-and-go with Brahim Diaz, stretching to tap in Madrid’s third of the night. It was a classy finish that all but sealed the win.
Pachuca finally got a consolation goal in the 81st minute — their 22nd attempt of the night — when Elias Montiel's shot took a heavy deflection off Aurelien Tchouameni, wrong-footing Courtois. But it was too little, too late.
Adding a sour note to the night, reports emerged post-match that Antonio Rudiger had allegedly been racially abused by Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral during stoppage time. The incident triggered FIFA’s anti-racism protocol, and an investigation is now underway. Rudiger’s teammates and manager Xabi Alonso have voiced full support, making it clear that such behavior has no place in the sport.
With this result, Real Madrid go top of Group H and look ahead to their final group-stage fixture against RB Salzburg on Friday. Mbappé remains doubtful but is recovering, and fans will be eager to see if he can make his tournament debut. For now, though, Real’s strength in depth has done the talking — and loudly.
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