ATLANTA
\nSpanish giants Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 on Tuesday to set up a Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey.
\nSerhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos\u2019s side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a match-up against his former team. Youngster Gonzalo Garcia headed home his third goal of the tournament to help Madrid edge Italian side Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami earlier.
\nIt was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso\u2019s Madrid side, unbeaten under the new coach, and they were further boosted by Kylian Mbappe\u2019s return from illness as a substitute. \u201cWe had a lot of chances in the second half, but their goalkeeper was really good,\u201d said Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois. The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor\u2019s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.
\nLos Blancos kept turning the screw and found their goal when Trent Alexander-Arnold crossed for Gonzalo to head home after 54 minutes.Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd but the striker did not find any clear openings as Juve pushed for an equaliser. Madrid\u2019s coach was pleased with his team\u2019s performance, including that of Gonzalo \u2014 who he had compared to former Real great Raul \u2014 but also suggested that Mbappe might be ready for a bigger contribution in the next game.
\n\u201cWe will keep watching him… I think he will be much better for the quarters,\u201d Alonso said.Alonso added that he was satisfied to see Real produce the necessary grit to grind out the result in the second half.\u201dWe had to be patient, we had to mature into the game,\u201d said the coach. \u201cWith the players and myself, you know you have to grit your teeth and do what you have to do. And in the end, we had to hold on a bit, and I\u2019m happy about that too.\u201d
\nJuve boss Tudor said his team became exhausted as the game developed.\u201dIn the end there were 10 of them asking to be substituted. Obviously you can\u2019t do that but there was an incredible tiredness,\u201d he said, offering his reasons. \u201cThere is the tension of the game which burns energy but then there is the heat and humidity,\u201d explained Tudor, also noting they were at the end of a long season.
\nIn Atlanta, Guirassy\u2019s brace was enough to help Dortmund past Monterrey in a hard-fought clash, setting them up to play a Madrid side who beat them in the 2024 Champions League final.\u201dReal has a great team, they have many good individual players,\u201d Dortmund coach Niko Kovac told reporters. \u201cIf we put everything on the pitch, (giving) the same performance as we saw today, I think that we will have a good chance.\u201d
\nGuirassy netted a first-half double but German Berterame pulled one back for the Mexican side who came close to an equaliser when a late Ramos header span just wide. \u201cI think I could have scored at least three goals but I am happy to have helped the team win,\u201d Guirassy told broadcaster DAZN. After grinding through several games in the blazing afternoon sun during the group stage, Dortmund were grateful to be at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium and played at a faster pace in Atlanta.
\nKarim Adeyemi set up both of Guirassy\u2019s goals as the Guinea international reached 37 for the season across all competitions.A booking for Jobe Bellingham means he will be suspended for the clash against his brother Jude\u2019s Real Madrid side. However Dortmund almost missed out entirely as Monterrey hit back in the second half, but after Berterame headed home to reduce the gap, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made several good saves to keep them at bay.
\nRamos, sent up front for the final stages, put a header agonisingly wide in stoppage time as he tried to deliver on his penchant for late, decisive moments, like in Madrid\u2019s 2014 Champions League final triumph. \u201cThe crowd and our fans and the people who understand about football, they saw that the team gave everything,\u201d Ramos told DAZN, proud of his side\u2019s efforts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ATLANTA Spanish giants Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 on Tuesday to set up a Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey. Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos\u2019s side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta and denied the former Real […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-488125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n