Real Madrid oust Juventus as Dortmund reach CWC qtr-finals

AFP, Atlanta :

Spanish giants Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 on Tuesday to set up a Club World Cup (CWC) quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey.

Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos’s side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a match-up against his former team.

Youngster Gonzalo Garcia headed home his third goal of the tournament to help Madrid edge Italian side Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami earlier.

It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side, unbeaten under the new coach, and they were further boosted by Kylian Mbappe’s return from illness as a substitute.

“We had a lot of chances in the second half, but their goalkeeper was really good,” said Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois.

The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor’s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.

Los Blancos kept turning the screw and found their goal when Trent Alexander-Arnold crossed for Gonzalo to head home after 54 minutes.

Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd but the striker did not find any clear openings as Juve pushed for an equaliser.

Madrid’s coach was pleased with his team’s performance, including that of Gonzalo — who he had compared to former Real great Raul — but also suggested that Mbappe might be ready for a bigger contribution in the next game.

“We will keep watching him… I think he will be much better for the quarters,” Alonso said.
In Atlanta, Guirassy’s brace was enough to help Dortmund past Monterrey in a hard-fought clash, setting them up to play a Madrid side who beat them in the 2024 Champions League final.

“Real has a great team, they have many good individual players,” Dortmund Coach Niko Kovac told reporters.

“If we put everything on the pitch, (giving) the same performance as we saw today, I think that we will have a good chance.”

Guirassy netted a first-half double but German Berterame pulled one back for the Mexican side who came close to an equaliser when a late Ramos header span just wide.

“I think I could have scored at least three goals but I am happy to have helped the team win,” Guirassy told broadcaster DAZN.