Coming into Sunday’s encounter with CF Pachuca, Real Madrid C. F. were already feeling the stress of not having earned full points in their FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ against Al Hilal.
New head coach Xabi Alonso, who entered the day still seeking his first win on Los Blancos’ bench, had said in his pre-match press conference that he was hoping for a “complete performance” from his side against the Mexican outfit.
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Less than seven minutes after kick-off at Bank of America in Charlotte, it felt like that idea was thrown out the window when Raul Asencio was sent off with a straight red card.
But in the first major hurdle of the Alonso era, Real Madrid’s championship pedigree surfaced as they emerged triumphant 3-1, much to the delight of the new man in charge.
“When I saw the red, I knew it was going to be very tough,” said Alonso to FIFA. “The context of our entire approach to the match had to change. Fortunately, the boys understood that very well.”
What followed was 83 minutes of Madrid largely dominating proceedings to defeat Pachuca for the second time in six months following last December’s victory in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™ final.
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“We played with a lot of maturity, intelligence, sacrifice and discipline to be able to work things out in the match, which was going to be a very long one for us,” said Alonso. “In the end, winning 3-1 with just ten men is fantastic.”
The former midfielder also praised the performances of new arrivals Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, each of whom received their second start in a Real Madrid shirt.
Alexander-Arnold was noticeably more comfortable connecting with team-mates, including an inch-perfect pass to set up the second goal, while Huijsen was a workhorse on the backline, containing Pachuca dangerman Salomon Rondon and making key interventions to stop Pachuca’s forays forward.
“This match was different for them,” said Alonso. “They played well and that is very important for us.”
