Real Madrid Breeze Past Salzburg To Top Group H
A Real Madrid side with a fresh face and fresher formation waltzed into the Club World Cup last 16 with a commanding 3-0 win over RB Salzburg in Philadelphia. Yep, Xabi Alonso’s men didn’t just win, they put on a bit of a tactical show at the Lincoln Financial Field.
Gone was the familiar 4-3-3 of the Ancelotti and Zidane eras. In came a bold five-man backline, with wing-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia flying forward like kids let loose in a candy store. At the heart of it all, Aurelien Tchouameni slotted in between centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huijsen, orchestrating the build-up with the calm of a conductor.
If you were getting flashbacks to Vicente del Bosque’s 2000 Champions League-winning Madrid, you weren’t alone. The formation might be old school, but the execution was all modern Real, crisp, sharp, and ruthless.
Vinicius opens the show, Valverde joins the party
Vinicius Jr did what Vinicius Jr does, shimmied past a couple of defenders and drilled a low finish into the corner to break the deadlock. Business as usual. But he wasn’t done. Just before the break, he added a touch of samba magic with a slick backheel that teed up Federico Valverde, who did the rest to make it 2-0.
Second half? Less chaos, more control. Madrid turned down the tempo but still looked like they were in cruise control. Salzburg huffed and puffed, but they were never really let in the front door.
And just to put the cherry on top, academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia chipped in with the third, literally. A cheeky little finish to wrap up a performance that was all about balance, composure, and a glimpse of what Alonso’s Real might become.
Vinicius: “It takes time, but today was a good start”
Speaking after the game, Vinicius Jr kept it real. “We’re taking it step-by-step. Of course, we can’t fully adapt to the coach’s ideas so quickly, it takes time. But today was a good game for that, especially in the first half,” he told Dazn.
What’s next?
Real Madrid now head to Florida for a mouthwatering last-16 clash against Group G runners-up Juventus, set for 2:00 BST on July 1. Salzburg, despite flashes of promise, bow out after finishing third in the group. They picked up four points, but just missed out on the knockout stage by a single point, with Al-Hilal pipping them to second place.
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Xabi’s experiment looks like it’s working. And if this was just the warm-up, buckle up, things are about to get spicy.
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