ATLANTA, Georgia — Spanish giants Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to set up a Club World Cup (CWC) quarterfinal (QF) clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey.
n Federico Valverde of Real Madrid C.F. attempts an overhead kick while under pressure from Filip Kostic of Juventus FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match at Hard Rock Stadium on July 1, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. AFP PHOTO
Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos’ side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a matchup 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.
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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.
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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 equalizer.
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.
Alonso added that he was satisfied to see Real produce the necessary grit to grind out the result in the second half.
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“We had to be patient, we had to mature into the game,” said the coach.
“With the players and myself, you know you have to grit your teeth and do what you have to do. And in the end, we had to hold on a bit, and I’m happy about that, too.”
Juve boss Tudor said his team became exhausted as the game developed.
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.
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