Real Madrid set a record by winning the Club World Cup a record-tying fifth time after defeating Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 5-3 in the final at the Club World Cup in Rabat, Morocco. In the final on Saturday, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, and Karim Benzema all contributed for the European champions.
After 20 minutes of play against their Asian opponents, Madrid had a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Vinicius and Valverde, who both scored in the span of five minutes. However, the game was given fresh life by Moussa Marega’s goal for Al Hilal, the first Saudi Arabian team to reach the championship. With just over 30 minutes left, Madrid appeared to have secured the victory with two more quick-fire goals scored early in the second half by the recovered Karim Benzema and another by Uruguayan Valverde.
Madrid had enough to hold on for a well-earned victory in a match that established the record for the most combined goals in a Club World Cup final, even if Al Hilal may have caused some serious late drama if not for a poor shot from Marega.
In his 74 minutes of action for Madrid, Toni Kroos made a new milestone by becoming the first player to ever win the Club World Cup six times. After winning the trophy for the first time with Bayern Munich in 2013, Kroos has participated in each of Madrid’s five championship seasons, including the previous three in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Madrid’s regulars Karim Benzema, Nacho Fernandez, Luka Modric, and Daniel Carvajal all won five times.
