Real Madrid secured an easy 3-0 victory over FC Salzburg at the Club World Cup on Thursday night. Real, playing with five defenders, will face Juventus in the next round.
Coach Xabi Alonso used the match against the Austrians for a tactical experiment. He started the match in Philadelphia with five defenders, unusual for ‘De Koninklijke’. In Madrid, they swear by 4-3-3.
Fran García, Dean Huijsen, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Antonio Rüdiger and Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared at the kick-off, with García and Alexander-Arnold functioning as attacking wingbacks.
Real took the lead just before half-time via Vinicius Junior, who scored from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot. Shortly afterwards, Federico Valverde doubled the lead, after a fine assist from Vinicius, who laid the ball back with a heel flick.
Gonzalo García determined the final score in the 84th minute with a lob. Vinicius had already been taken off, just like Jude Bellingham.
The comfortable victory saw Real become group winner in group H, with seven points. As a result, a meeting with Juventus awaits in the next round, who finished second in group G. Real and Juventus will meet at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.