Al Ain 1-4 Real Madrid: Merengues Win Third Consecutive FIFA Club World Cup Title Following Dominant Effort Over Hosts

Real Madrid didn’t arrive to the FIFA Club World Cup on their best form, but they have erased their concerns. With a huge 4-1 over hosts Al Ain during the tournament’s final, Los Merengues won the third consecutive title in this competition, and did it on dominant fashion. Strikes from Luka Modric, Marcos Llorente, Sergio Ramos and a stoppage-time own goal from Yahia Nader gave Los Merengues another continental title. Tsukasa Shiotani scored Al Ain’s lone goal.

The reigning tournament champions didn’t waste time once the ball started rolling, and got themselves ahead before the 15th minute mark. Luka Modric past a few opponents and drilled a precise effort into the bottom left corner, giving Real Madrid the lead.

Al Ain came close to equalized only two minutes afterwards, but Caio had his goal disallowed. Despite the Arab side showed resiliency and some interesting things, they simply weren’t a match for Los Merengues. And the Spanish side would extend their differential considerably during the second half.

Real Madrid closed the game in the second half

A first-time outside-the-box shot from Marcos Llorente made it 2-0 in the 60th minute. Sergio Ramos made it 3-0 with a close-range header following a cross from Modric, one of the best players for Real Madrid during this pivotal match. And that differential allowed them to breathe with a bit more ease down the stretch.

Star defender Tsukasa Shiotake pulled one back in the 86th minute for Al Ain, but it was too late to mount a comeback. Especially since Madrid added another goal during stoppage time when Yahia Nader unintentionally sent the ball into his own goal when he tried to intercept a pass. Referee Jair Marrufo blew his whistle afterwards, with Madrid lifting the trophy and Al Ain players crying devastated after looking overmatched during the club’s biggest match in their history.

This was Real Madrid’s third consecutive FIFA Club World Cup title. And based on how dominant they looked during their two matches, it was widely deserved.

Match Report

Al Ain: Eisa; Ahmad (Mohammed 64’), Ahmed, Fayez, Shiotani; Al Jaberi, Abdulrahman (Abdulrahman, 67’), Doumbia; El Shahat, Caio; Berg (Nader, 75’)

Real Madrid: Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Llorente (Casemiro, 82’), Kroos (Dani Ceballos, 70’); Lucas Vazquez (Vinicius Jr., 84’), Benzema, Bale

Goals: Modric (0-1, 14’), Llorente (0-2, 60’), Sergio Ramos (0-3, 79’), Shiotani (1-3, 86’), Nader (OG, 1-4, 90+1’)

Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA). He admonished Sergio Ramos (RM) and didn’t show red cards.

Attendance: 40,696