MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Gonzalo Garcia’s 54th-minute header was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Juventus at Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.
The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight.
It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side and adding to a positive day, Kylian Mbappe made his return from illness, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for his first appearance of the tournament.
The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor’s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.
There was an early chance for Juve’s Randal Kolo Muani after clever work from Kenan Yildiz to put him through on goal, but the French forward opted for an attempted chip of Thibaut Courtois and his shot floated over the bar.
The impressive Yildiz then burst through the middle and unleashed a fierce effort which deflected off Aurelien Tchouameni and flew wide.
The Turin team, beaten 5-2 by Manchester City in their final group game, were moving the ball around with confidence but Real grew into the contest and they went close when Jude Bellingham forced a save out of Michele Di Gregorio from close range.
Federico Valverde then tested the Juve goalkeeper from long range and Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a low ball across the face of the goal as Madrid finished the half strongly.
The interval did nothing to alter the momentum of the game with Real creating several chances — Bellingham laid off to Valverde, whose sweetly-struck shot was just wide and then Bellingham himself brought another good save out of Di Gregorio with a shot from the edge of the box.
Dean Huijsen’s rocketing drive was parried out by the busy goalkeeper as Real laid seige to the Juventus goal and it was no surprise when the breakthrough finally arrived.
Alexander-Arnold floated in a cross from the right which Gonzalo met with a perfectly-timed header for his third goal in four games in the tournament.
Juve responded with Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao bringing Courtois into action from a low shot the Belgian shot-stopper did well to get down to.
But Real wanted to finish the contest off and Valverde tested Di Gregorio’s reactions with an overhead kick before Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd.
Juve’s belief remained however and Nicolas Gonzalez flashed a 25-yard drive just wide.
At the other end, Real’s Turkish midfielder Arda Guler saw his crisp shot kept out by the feet of Di Gregorio, but the one goal was enough.
Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters
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Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters
- The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight
Rabiot double lifts Milan after early scare at Como
- Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points
COMO, Italy: AC Milan came from behind to earn a 3-1 victory at Como on Thursday, with Adrien Rabiot scoring twice to keep the away side in the Serie A title race.
Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points.
Como made the brighter start and took the lead after 10 minutes when Marc-Oliver Kempf rose to head home a corner.
Despite the hosts controlling much of the first half, Milan struck in stoppage time as Christopher Nkunku calmly converted from the penalty spot after Kempf was penalized for pushing Rabiot.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced a series of strong saves to keep Como at bay after the break before Milan took the lead in the 55th minute when Rabiot knocked the ball in from close range.
Como were denied an equalizer as Nico Paz saw his effort from outside the box crash against the crossbar. Milan then sealed the win two minutes from time when Rabiot caught the Como defense off guard with a low strike from distance that crept into the bottom corner.
“This was a team victory, we showed our mentality,” Rabiot told DAZN after being named Man of the Match.
“We suffered a lot in the first half, but we talked during the break, came out with a different mentality, we all came out fighting for the three points.
“We gave something extra and I am very happy to score two goals, obviously, but above all I’m pleased with the mentality of the team.”
While Rabiot provided the goals, another Frenchman, goalkeeper Maignan, made his mark with a string of crucial saves.
“We knew that playing here would be difficult, we were well-prepared. We started a little sluggish and they scored, but we managed to keep the game open, and then all together started to play as a team,” Maignan said.
“We know these are great nights for Milan with an atmosphere like this. We suffered, we used up a lot of energy and left it all on the field.”
