Overview

• Real Madrid opened its Club World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal, with defensive mistakes yielding a late penalty
• In Sunday’s match against CF Pachuca, Madrid won 3-1 as Jude Bellingham, Arda Güler and Fede Valverde found the net despite playing most of the game with 10 men
• Antonio Rüdiger marked his return from a knee operation by coming off the bench and shoring up Real’s back line against Pachuca
• Xabi Alonso faces pressure to align tactics with the egos of stars like Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé
• Real’s mixed results leave qualification hopes intact but underscore the new coach’s challenge of achieving consistency at a club driven by global expectations