FIFA Club World Cup: Real Madrid Beat Al-Hilal 5-3 In Summit Clash To Clinch Fifth Title

It was a spirited performance from Al-Hilal but Real Madrid outclassed the Saudi club on Saturday.

Real Madrid's French forward Karim Benzema (L) celebrates with Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior after scoring his team's third goal during the FIFA Club World Cup final football match between Spain's Real Madrid and Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on February 11, 2023.

Source : AFP

A brace each from Vinicius Junior and Fede Valverde helped Real Madrid beat Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal 5-3 in the FIFA Club World Cup final at Rabat, Morocco on Saturday. While Madrid produced one of their best attacking games of the ongoing season in this action-packed finale, the win ensured what happens to be their 100th official trophy in club history.

It was Vinicius who scored the opening goal for the La Liga giants with what was a clinical finish and handed Madrid the lead in to the 13th minute of the match. The Los Blancos did not have to wait much longer to find their second goal as Fede found the back of the net five minutes later.

It was, however, a spirited performance from Al-Hilal too who weren't bogged down by the two early goals conceded and continued to fight back and Moussa Marega's 26th-minute goal got them back into the match.

However, the Spanish side did enough to sustain their 2-1 lead going into half-time.

🏆 #W8RLDCHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RdkO71WUFM

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 11, 2023

Luciano Vietto's brace goes in vain

In the second half, if there were any feats of a potential upset, all of it vanished as soon as Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema further extended Madrid's lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 54th minute. Not much later in the 58th minute, Fede was quick to pounce on a goal-scoring opportunity on  Dani Carvajal’s through ball which made sure the Los Vikingos were almost insurmountable with the scoreboard reading 4-1.

Luciano Vietto, however, then pulled one back for Al-Hilal in the 63rd minute but Vinicius scored his second of the evening in the 69th minute. Vietto yet again scored in the 79th minute but that only managed to reduce the goal margin of their eventual defeat.

Real Madrid's next match will be their La Liga face-off against Elche CF.