Young striker Gonzalo Garcia continued his red-hot form with a fourth Club World Cup goal and Kylian Mbappe added a spectacular strike as Real Madrid edged Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on Saturday, booking a blockbuster semi-final showdown with European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
In sweltering heat at the MetLife Stadium outside New York City, 21-year-old Garcia opened the scoring early, reacting quickest to an Arda Guler cross to tap home at the near post. Fran Garcia then doubled Real’s lead before the 20-minute mark, finishing off a flowing move orchestrated by Jude Bellingham and full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The match — a rematch of the 2024 Champions League final — looked to be comfortably in Madrid’s control for most of the afternoon. But a wild flurry of late goals added drama to the closing stages. Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier made it 2-1 in stoppage time with a crisp finish from a loose ball, before Mbappe responded with a stunning overhead kick to restore Madrid’s two-goal cushion.
There was still time for further chaos. Real defender Dean Huijsen was sent off for bringing down Serhou Guirassy in the box, and the striker converted the resulting penalty to make it 3-2 with virtually the last kick of the game.
Despite not starting a single match in the tournament so far due to illness, Mbappe’s dazzling cameo off the bench added to his growing tally of 44 goals for club this season. He will now aim to start for the first time when Real face his former club PSG at the same venue on Wednesday — a highly anticipated semi-final that could determine the favourite to win FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup.
Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, still experimenting with his squad, opted for a tactical tweak against Dortmund by switching to a traditional back four, allowing Aurelien Tchouameni to push into midfield. The decision paid off, with Real dominating the opening half and nearly adding to their lead before the break. Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Tchouameni all came close, with the latter rattling the woodwork just past the hour mark.
Dortmund, who had been largely toothless until the final minutes, nearly ignited a comeback through Beier and Guirassy, but the late burst came too late to change the outcome.
The win takes Madrid into the final four of the tournament, with Chelsea set to face Fluminense in the other semi-final. For now, all eyes turn to Wednesday’s titanic clash with PSG — and the possible first start of Mbappe’s tournament.
