Maintain 3 central defenders
Real Madrid 's plane will fly to New York this week rather than returning to the Spanish capital, as Man City did when they left the US .
The Royal team dominated Juventus in the second half of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 match, securing a ticket to the quarter-finals thanks to a powerful header from Gonzalo Garcia - who has continued to shine since taking a starting spot under Xabi Alonso.
Coach Alonso deployed a three-man central defender system in Miami. This was the second consecutive match he used a defense of Trent Alexander-Arnold , Rudiger, Tchouameni, Huijsen and Fran Garcia, repeating the formation he tried against Salzburg.
While waiting for Eder Militao and Carvajal to fully recover (both are in the squad for the match against Juventus), the Basque strategist seems to have clearly defined his playing style, just like what he did at Bayer Leverkusen.
But at the Hard Rock Stadium, Real Madrid had a tough time. Juventus, coached by Igor Tudor, were superior in class to Salzburg, and targeted the weakness that their opponents had exposed in the previous match.
It was the space behind Alexander-Arnold and between the defense and the two central midfielders Valverde – Arda Guler. This area was where Real Madrid had a lot of difficulty in deploying their initial tactics.
Young talent Yildiz, Guler's teammate in Türkiye, constantly surprises, operating flexibly between the lines and is the biggest threat to Real Madrid's goal.
Yildiz missed once and then played a through ball to Kolo Muani, who broke free and faced Courtois, but the French striker's lob went over the bar.
Juventus did not stop there. They took full advantage of the gaps in Real Madrid's pressing system.
The trio of Vinicius, Gonzalo and Bellingham were the first pressing layer, but the Italian players still managed to break free to build the game.
Yildiz had another chance to score in the 10th minute, but his shot was saved by Tchouameni.
Turning Point
An injury delay for Juventus gave Xabi Alonso a chance to adjust.
Real Madrid gained more possession and Guler began to play the role of conductor, freeing up Valverde.
In the 29th minute, the Uruguayan midfielder passed the ball to Bellingham in the penalty area, but the English player's shot hit goalkeeper Di Gregorio. However, from then on, "Los Blancos" officially regained control of the game.
Another delay – this time to allow players to rehydrate due to the high humidity in Miami – also helped Real Madrid gain the upper hand.
Tchouameni almost got on the end of Guler's pass, Valverde forced the goalkeeper to dive to save a long-range shot, and Gonzalo missed Trent's cross. Real Madrid came close, but the first half ended in a draw.
However, after the break, Real Madrid really “transformed”. Xabi Alonso’s half-time speech had an effect. The white team increased the tempo of the match, applied strong pressure and continuously approached the goal of Juventus – a team that was clearly starting to lose steam.
Valverde, Trent, Bellingham and Huijsen all tried but failed to beat Di Gregorio, until Gonzalo, like a giant, rose high to head home the former Liverpool defender's perfect cross.
The image evokes Santillana or Cristiano Ronaldo (although the gap is still very far), but that header put Real Madrid ahead in Miami. Gonzalo has 3 goals in 4 FIFA Club World Cup 2025 matches, with 1 assist.
The game broke down and Madrid had chances to finish Juventus off, but Di Gregorio continued to excel, saving a Valverde bicycle kick and a Guler volley.
Alonso’s side completely dominated Juventus after the break, with Kylian Mbappe coming on for an exhausted Gonzalo and shifting to keeping possession.
Although they did not score any more goals, Real Madrid still affirmed their progress, Alonso's philosophy became more and more evident, and they are candidates for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup title.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-ha-juventus-1-0-xabi-alonso-va-than-tai-gonzalo-garcia-2417335.html
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