The second match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup saw the 'big guy' Real Madrid sweating against their opponent from Mexico - Pachuca, because they made things difficult for themselves.
The white team played with only 10 men on the field, right from the 7th minute, after center back Raul Asensio received a direct red card for fouling a Pachuca player.

Notably, in the opening match Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal, Asensio also made a similar mistake allowing the opponent to get a penalty, equalizing the score.
Falling into an unexpectedly difficult situation against Pachuca, Real Madrid still did what was necessary: winning (3-1) thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham (35'), Guler (43') and Valverde (70').
This is Real Madrid's first victory at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and also Xabi Alonso's first victory with the white team.

Seeing their team struggle against a much less famous opponent, many Real Madrid fans were upset with Raul Asensio. Thibaut Coustois was the one who had to 'carry' the most for his young teammate, making 10 saves against Pachuca.
After the match, Xabi Alonso spoke about the 'sinner' Raul Asensio: " He shouldn't have made such a mistake. That's something we have to learn from. I will talk to Raul Asensio."

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said: “ Asensio made the same mistake in two matches. He needs to be smarter. We cannot allow it to happen again, even if it is the smallest mistake. Real Madrid will fight for him. The team can win without Asensio .”
Jude Bellingham was more gentle: “ Raul made a little mistake in the match. It's okay, he's young so it's normal. The important thing is that the whole team is united and supports each other so that in the end Real Madrid still wins .”
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-3-1-pachuca-xabi-va-dan-sao-phan-ung-toi-do-asensio-2414004.html
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