Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca: Alonso earns first win despite early Asencio red

Xabi Alonso earned his first win as Real Madrid's head coach as his team overcame Raul Asencio's early red card to beat Pachuca 3-1 at the Club World Cup on Sunday. 

Asencio was dismissed in the seventh minute after a last-man foul on Salomon Rondon, but Madrid's individual attacking quality got them up and running in the tournament. 

Goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Federico Valverde moved Los Blancos into top spot in Group H ahead of Al-Hilal's meeting with Red Bull Salzburg. 

Pachuca started strongly and a ball over the top caught Asencio napping, allowing Rondon to steal in before he was brought down by the defender, resulting in his sending off.

Alonso then had Thibaut Courtois to thank after the Madrid goalkeeper pulled off two stunning saves in quick succession to deny Rondon and Alan Bautista. 

But Madrid hit the front in the 35th minute when Fran Garcia's pass was collected by Bellingham, who drove into the box before firing a left-footed effort past Carlos Moreno. 

Guler then doubled his side's tally two minutes before the break, tucking the ball into the bottom-left corner to round off a fine move that involved Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

Not deterred by going two goals down, Pachuca pushed their opponents all the way, with Bryan Gonzalez seeing his effort brilliantly tipped over by Courtois after the break. 

But Madrid captain Valverde put the result beyond doubt 20 minutes from time, sliding in to poke substitute Brahim Diaz's inviting cross into the net from close range. 

Elias Montiel netted a late consolation for the Mexican side, with the midfielder's strike from distance deflecting off Aurelien Tchouameni and wrong-footing Courtois. 

Madrid were able to comfortably see out the win and will now prepare for their final group game next week, when they take on Salzburg at Lincoln Financial Field. 

Data Debrief: Young guns guide Madrid through red mist

It has been a tournament to forget for Madrid defender Asencio so far after he gave away a spot-kick in their opening group game against Al-Hilal. Indeed, the Spaniard is the first European player to be sent off and concede a penalty in the same edition of the Club World Cup since at least 2010.

But he was bailed out by his team-mates, with Madrid's young guns filling the void left by Kylian Mbappe, who was deemed not fit enough to feature after being admitted to hospital earlier in the week. 

Gonzalo Garcia led the line once again, and got the assist for Guler's well-taken finish. The 21-year-old, who netted against Al-Hilal last time out, is the first player to be involved in a goal in each of his first two starts for Madrid in all competitions since Joselu Mato in 2023 (two goals). 

And at 20 years and 57 days old, Guler became the youngest player to score 10 goals for Madrid in all competitions since at least 2009-10, surpassing Vinicius Junior's previous record in 2020 (20 years and 80 days).