Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men
CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler scored first-half goals and short-handed Real Madrid bounced back from a disappointing performance in its Club World Cup opener to beat Pachuca 3-1 on Sunday in front of 70,248 spectators at Bank of America Stadium. Seven minutes in, defender Raul Asencio received a red card, forcing Real Madrid to play the remainder of the match with 10 men. It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power. Bellingham got Madrid on the board in the 35th minute when he took a pass from Fran Garcia just inside the box and belted a perfectly placed left-footed shot past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into the right corner. Eight minutes later, Güler made it 2-0 when he delivered a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner off an assist from Gonzalo García. Federico Valverde put the final touches on the win in the second half with a sliding right-footed shot off an assist from Brahim Díaz. Goalkeeper Thabaut Courtois was on form with five saves in the first half.