Make sure you check out Emlyn Begley’s match report.
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The headline though is that Real Madrid have won to go top of Group H.
Meanwhile Pachuca are now out of the Club World Cup.
An odd way for the match to finish. Remember, this is Rudiger’s return after six-game ban for throwing an object at the referee in the Copa del Rey final.
Antonio Rudiger and Gustavo Cabral square up at the final whistle and their team-mates have to drag them apart.
Alonso soon jogs on to the field and has a word with Rudiger who then heads towards the tunnel.
Reuters
That’s it, all over. Xabi Alonso has his first win as Real Madrid manager.
Not really sure what Rudiger thinks he’ll achieve.
Play restarts with a drop-ball for Pachuca. We’re beyond the five minutes added on.
I think Rudiger is trying to buy his side a penalty here. He was brushed – and I mean brushed – by the arm of Cabral and that was enough for him to hit the deck.
The referee says no penalty and suddenly the Real Madrid players have to hold Rudiger back as he continues to complain to Cabral.
Real Madrid are hunting for a fourth. Luka Modric slides in Brahim Diaz, but the forward’s first-time cross is straight at the keeper.
Antonio Rudiger is down in the penalty area.
Well, after going down to 10 after seven minutes, I reckon Real Madrid will happily take a 3-1 win in the sun. Just a few more minutes to get through.
Salomon Rondon is flagged for offside.
Thibaut Courtois makes one more save, for old time’s sake. Gathering a shot straight at him from an impossibly tight angle.
Getty Images
Five minutes added on.
Antonio Rudiger is playing at right wing. His cross goes into an empty Pachuca box.
Vinicius Junior comes off, to a wild reception, and is replaced by youngster Victor Munoz.
A Real coach puts an ice pack on Vinicius’ neck.
Reuters
Maybe, although the deflection off Aurelien Tchouameni probably had more to do with it, Mekaeal.
Trent goes off and Madrid concede. Perhaps his defensive capabilities aren’t given the dues they deserve?
Mekaeal
Courtois continues to rack up his saves count. He gets down low, diving to his right, to keep out a Carlos Sanchez strike from a tight angle.
Reuters
It’s all Pachuca. Real Madrid are standing off.
Pachuca’s Gonzalo Montiel tries a little give-and-go, but when he unleashes a strike he’s leaning really far back and the ball balloons over.
Real Madrid need to wake up. Pachuca are allowed to swing a cross towards the back post, but a header back across goal is cleared.
Michael Brown
Former Premier League midfielder on DAZN
It’s a real good moment for the young man. He looks like he’s going to have a bright career. It’s a good turn but it gets wicked deflection and Courtois can’t do anything about it.
They will feel they’ve got a small chance now.
Getty Images
Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist
Ten-man Real Madrid beat Mexican side Pachuca to take a big step towards the Fifa Club World Cup knockout stages.
Xabi Alonso’s side were reduced to 10 men early on in Charlotte when Raul Asencio fouled Salomon Rondon when the veteran former West Brom striker was through on goal.
Pachuca caused Real problems and had several chances and a penalty appeal rejected by the video assistant referee.
Real took the lead when Jude Bellingham ran on to a pass, carried the ball into the box and slotted a well-hit effort past the goalkeeper.
Arda Guler doubled the lead after Gonzalo Garcia laid off the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pass.
Federico Valverde stabbed home their third before Elias Montiel’s deflected effort gave Pachuca faint hope.
Real will be in the last 16 if they beat Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg on Friday (02:00 BST). Pachuca are eliminated.
What was the main talking point?
The scoreline would suggest a fairly comfortable Real Madrid win but that does not really tell the story. After drawing 1-1 in Xabi Alonso’s opening game in charge against Al-Hilal, this marked their first win but they were made to work for it on another hot day – about 33C in front of 70,248 fans.
Pachuca, who had an extra man for 83 minutes, had 25 shots to Real’s eight and were made to pay for missing chances.
Real looked shaky at the back – especially when Rondon was kept onside before Asencio brought him down – and were tested thoroughly by 2018-19 Newcastle team-mates Rondon and Kenedy.
But a win is a win and they will now be confident of progression – when they will hope to have Kylian Mbappe back after a bout of gastroenteritis.
What information do we collect from this quiz?
Which players stood out?
Without Thibaut Courtois in goal this could have been different. The Real keeper ended up making 10 saves, including a crucial double stop to deny Rondon and Alan Bautista – and a save to prevent Carlos Sanchez from making it 3-2.
Bellingham got his 15th goal of 2024-25 – or his first goal of 2025-26 – depending how you look at it.
England team-mate Alexander-Arnold did not do too much of note, on his second appearance for the club, but had a hand in Real’s second goal.
The standout stats
This game was a repeat of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup final, which Real Madrid won 3-0 in Qatar.
Real remain unbeaten in Club World Cup games, excluding a penalty shootout defeat in the 2000 third-place play-off by Mexicans Necaxa.
What is next for these teams?
Real play Salzburg and Pachuca play Al-Hilal, both on Friday (02:00 BST).
Where next?
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Player of the match
T. Courtois
7.02
1 T. Courtois
7.02
5 J. Bellingham
6.85
8 F. Valverde
6.70
15 A. Güler
6.68
24 Dean Huijsen
6.49
21 Brahim DÃaz
6.39
10 L. Modrić
6.38
30 Gonzalo GarcÃa
6.35
14 A. Tchouaméni
6.14
7 VinÃcius Júnior
6.09
20 Fran GarcÃa
6.04
19 Dani Ceballos
5.69
44 VÃctor Muñoz
5.58
22 A. Rüdiger
5.50
35 Raúl Asencio
4.85
12 T. Alexander-Arnold
4.28
23 S. Rondón
6.67
28 E. Montiel
6.39
26 A. Bautista
6.36
29 Kenedy
6.33
24 L. RodrÃguez
6.25
12 A. DomÃnguez
6.16
18 A. Palavecino
6.15
8 B. González
6.15
25 C. Moreno
6.12
4 Eduardo Bauermann
6.09
16 F. Pereira
6.04
14 C. Sánchez
6.02
22 G. Cabral
5.85
10 John Kennedy
5.80
32 V. Guzmán
5.77
19 J. López
5.73
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
