Osamagbe Imadiyi
On Wednesday, Real Madrid easily defeated Pachuca of Mexico 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup final in Doha thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
Mbappe gave Madrid the lead in the 37th minute, and Rodrygo doubled it early in the second half. With a late penalty, Vinicius gave the Spanish and European champions a resounding victory. Following incredible play by Vinicius Junior, who missed out on the Ballon d’Or but won the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award the day before, Mbappe came in close to break the tie.
Salomon Rondon, a former forward for West Brom and Newcastle, spearheaded Pachuca’s attack, but they never really looked like they could pull off an upset, and Rodrygo’s exquisite curling goal from the edge of the area gave Madrid complete control.
Jude Bellingham was in an offside position and seemed to be obstructing the goalkeeper’s view, but it was permitted to stand after the referee checked the pitchside monitor.
Six minutes from the end, after Lucas Vazquez was taken down in the Pachuca box, Vinicius scored a third from the penalty spot after another VAR review.
After defeating Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in August, Madrid has now won two titles this season. As coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti has now won 15 trophies, surpassing Miguel Munoz as the club’s all-time leader. “I am incredibly happy and satisfied. It is a triumph. “That is more than anybody else,” Ancelotti remarked.