Real Madrid are rated much higher than Pachuca in the match in Group H of the FIFA Club World Cup. However, the surprise came in the 7th minute when Raul Acensio received a red card, putting Los Blancos in a one-man penalty early.
The following minutes were quite difficult for the European representative, especially for highly explosive players like Jude Bellingham. Due to a lack of players, Bellingham had to run more. He was also the subject surrounded by the most Pachuca players in the midfield area. After the first half hour, the English star seemed isolated and unable to move.
After that, Bellingham chose to play deep to receive the ball, thereby making accelerations to gradually take up the space above. This is also true to what Xabi Alonso is looking to see at Jude Bellingham, a midfielder who knows how to organize right from the back, not just waiting to "etect".
Previously under Carlo Ancelotti, when assigned to attack and score, Bellingham did very well in his first season playing for Real Madrid. After that, when Kylian Mbappe appeared, Bellingham had to play deeper, no longer having explosive priority, so their performance decreased significantly. Alonso is a very greedy person, he wants the 21-year-old star to be perfect in all aspects.
Back to the general situation of the match. Real Madrid is a team with a winning DNA in the continental and world arenas. The FIFA Club World Cup championship logo printed on their jersey is the clearest proof of the class of the "Gray Strip". After stabilizing the squad with 10 men, Real Madrid showed their complete superiority. Instead of playing close and breaking the opponent's strength, Bellingham and his teammates moved quickly, constantly reversing positions to make Pachuca unable to predict.
From the 35th to 43rd minutes alone, Real Madrid had 2 very lightning-fast goals, further showing the gap in class between the two teams. Looking at the big picture, all 3 goals of Los Blancos have a personal mark, the star class in Xabi Alonso's hands is much better than his opponent from Mexico.
The performance against Pachuca cannot be considered the pinnacle of Real Madrid. However, after a draw with Al Hilal and having to play with one less player against Pachuca, Los Blancos did not disappoint their fans once again. This is a luxury pre-season training session for Xabi Alonso but there is great pressure. Whether the former Leverkusen captain does well in this tournament will be a measure to evaluate his ability.
Real Madrid will face RB Salzburg in the final match of Group H. Currently, the European representative has 4 points after 2 matches, temporarily leading the group due to a better goal difference than Salzburg.
