Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in front of 76,611 at MetLife Stadium on Saturday evening, advancing to the semifinals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Madrid will face PSG in East Rutherford on Wednesday afternoon, looking to advance to its sixth-ever Club World Cup final.
Here are four thoughts from a victory that seemed certain until the final minutes of the game, when Dortmund scored a stoppage-time penalty and Madrid was reduced to ten players.
1. Gonzalo García scores again
Gonzalo García was not supposed to be Madrid's key player in this tournament. The 21-year-old striker spent most of his professional career at Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol, the club's reserve team, and was thrust into the starting lineup only after Kylian Mbappé came down with the flu. But García has deservedly kept his spot since.
García now has four goals and one assist in five games, and is making a name for himself at this tournament.
But it doesn't matter that García is now better known, and was marked closely by Dortmund. He opened the scoring in the 10th minute: Arda Güler whipped in a cross to a wide-open García, who did well to redirect the ball past Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Gonzalo García scores his fourth goal in five games | Courtesy DAZN
With Mbappé on the bench and working to get back to full fitness, Madrid has a striker capable of scoring, especially in big games, and making a difference when needed.
Oliver Strand
Megha Gupta
2. Garcías at the double
Ten minutes after taking the lead, Madrid doubled its advantage with another goal from another García. This time, it was left-back Fran García, who had an assist in the 3-1 Group Stage win over CF Pachuca.
It started with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing a pass across the face of the goal, which García got to first and blasted into the back of the net for just the second goal of his career.
Fran García scores his second career goal for Real Madrid | Courtesy DAZN Football
It's also fitting that Alexander-Arnold assisted the 20th-minute goal after his former teammate Diogo Jota – who wore number 20 for Liverpool – passed away earlier this week in a car crash that also took the life of his brother, footballer André Silva.
Dortmund tried to get back into the game before halftime, but were held to just one shot on target despite dominating possession. Madrid led 2-0 at the break.
Oliver Strand
3. Madrid fans come out in force
Dortmund and its fans are familiar with MetLife, after playing at the Stadium on June 17 against Fluminense. But this was Madrid's first visit to the Meadowlands this tournament.
Still, the Madrid fans showed up and took over MetLife, as white kits dominated the lower, middle, and upper bowls. The attendance of 76,611 in the 82,500-capacity stadium consisted of a small congregation of Dortmund fans behind one of the goals, and a few other groups spread out sparsely throughout the rest of the stadium. The pockets of yellow were nothing compared to the sea of white from the tens of thousands of Madrid supporters — MetLife turned into the Santiago Bernabéu for the day.
Madrid fans roared in the 67th minute when Mbappé came on and replaced Vinicius Junior, rising to their feet and clapping for the French star, valued at €180 million by Transfermarkt.
Mbappé gave those Madrid fans something to cheer about at the death, scoring an impressive scissor kick to make it 3-1 in injury time. He dedicated his goal celebration to Jota, symbolizing the number "20" with his hands.
Kylian Mbappé's stoppage-time stunner | Courtesy DAZN
Madrid will be back at MetLife for the semifinal, so expect the Los Blancos faithful to show out in full force once again on Wednesday.
Oliver Strand
4. PSG awaits in semifinals
Despite being two of the biggest teams in Europe, Madrid and PSG don't play each other often. The last time the two teams met was in 2022, when Madrid eliminated PSG 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
It's fair to say that whoever comes out on top in Wednesday's semifinal is the clear-cut favorite to win the Club World Cup, given that the other finalist will either be Chelsea or Fluminense.
PSG will be without starting centerback Willian Pacho and defender Lucas Hernández, who were sent off in the team's 2-0 quarterfinal win over Bayern Munich.
As for Madrid, centerback Dean Huijsen was sent off in stoppage time against Dortmund. Head coach Xabi Alonso will likely slot in 22-year-old defender Raúl Asencio to fill in for Huijsen against PSG.
Madrid will have a slight advantage against a PSG side that will be missing two of its key defenders, relying on Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, and Achraf Hakimi to carry the defensive load.
Regardless of who fills in defensively for PSG and Madrid, it'll be an entertaining game that could fill up all 82,500 seats at MetLife.
Michael Battista
