ABU DHABI: Gareth Bale put Real Madrid back in the final of the Club World Cup by scoring a hat-trick to lead the team to a comfortable 3-1 win over Japan’s Kashima Antlers on Wednesday.
Madrid qualified for the tournament between the top teams on each continent in large part thanks to Bale, who scored twice in the 3-1 win over Liverpool in May’s Champions League final.
Bale scored his first goal against Kashima just before half-time and added two more quickly after the break to decide the match.
“It’s an important victory,” Bale said. “We knew it would be a difficult game against a team that would make it difficult for us, so we just had to be professionals and get to the final.
“We had to work hard to win and I’m happy with the victory.”
When asked about his performance and his hat-trick, the Welshman said: “It’s great on a personal level but most important is to help the team to reach the final.”
Madrid will next play host side Al-Ain on Saturday, when the European champions will be heavily favored to claim a fourth club world title.
“I’m happy for the three great goals by Bale, and for the strength and consistency showed by the team,” said Madrid manager Santiago Solari.
Solari said that another world title would be “a prize for this team that has given its fans so much and accomplished the feat of winning three straight Champions Leagues. Adding three straight Club World Cups would be “fantastic.”
He added: “I am not worried about Al-Ain, but I expect good competition. They were able to beat Wellington and River Plate and are now in the final. We will have to be as competitive as today to win the trophy.”
Wednesday’s game was a rematch of the 2016 final, when Madrid needed extra time to beat Kashima 4-2.
This time they had no trouble.
Kashima had a promising start as Serginho shot just wide and Gen Shoji almost reached a corner kick that would have left him with a pointblank header in the third minute.
Madrid, however, took control and started probing the right side as Bale’s speed proved too much to handle.
Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos sent headers wide before Bale exchanged a quick pair of passes with Marcelo to score off the far post in the 43rd minute.
Bale’s second goal in the 53rd minute came after two horrible passes by Kashima defenders left their goalkeeper stranded and he added his third two minutes later after Marcelo found him alone in the box.
Bale was replaced by Marco Asensio, who later had to leave with an apparent leg injury.
Kashima’s Shoma Doi then closed the scoring with a goal in the 78th minute.
The match was interrupted in stoppage time when two fans ran onto the field toward Benzema and Marcelo. They were quickly removed by stadium security.
Kashima coach Goi Oiwa took responsibility for the result, saying: “In the match, soon after it started, we had chances, but we couldn’t finish.
“If we scored first, the result would have been different. We let the momentum go, we gave mental room to our opponents and we allowed them to take the lead. I am disappointed.”
On Tuesday, Al Ain caused a major upset by beating River Plate of Argentina on penalties.
Gareth Bale scores hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Kashima 3-1 at FIFA Club World Cup
Gareth Bale scores hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Kashima 3-1 at FIFA Club World Cup
- Madrid qualified for the tournament between the top teams on each continent in large part thanks to Bale
- Wednesday’s game was a rematch of the 2016 final, when Madrid needed extra time to beat Kashima 4-2
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
