Doha: Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior helped Real Madrid beat Mexico’s Pachuca 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup final in Doha on Wednesday.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Rodrigo doubled Madrid’s lead early in the second half. Vinicius sealed a comfortable win for the Spanish and European champions with a late penalty.
France striker Mbappe returned to the Madrid line-up in Doha after missing Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Rio Vallecano with a hamstring injury in last week’s Champions League win at Atlanta.
Mbappe scored from close range to break the deadlock after a superb performance from Vinicius Jr, who won FIFA’s player of the year award after missing out on the Ballon d’Or the day before.
Former West Brom and Newcastle forward Salomon Rondon led the attack for CONCACAF Champions Cup winners Pachuca, but they never seemed to be troubled and Rodrigo’s fine curling strike from the edge of the area put Madrid in complete control. I took
He was allowed to stand when the referee consulted the pitchside monitor even though Jude Bellingham was in an offside position and interfering with the goalkeeper’s approach.
Vencius added a third from the penalty spot six minutes later after another VAR review when Lucas Vazquez was cut down in the Pachuca box.
“We knew it was difficult to play after a long journey and only one game. We struggled at the beginning, but we adapted well,” Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde told Spanish television channel Telecinco.
It is Madrid’s second title of the season following their UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta in August.
Carlo Ancelotti won his 15th trophy as Madrid coach, surpassing Miguel Munoz for the most in the club’s history.
“I’m very happy, very happy. It’s a success. It’s more than anyone else,” Ancelotti said.
It was the first edition of the FIFA-backed Intercontinental Cup, which largely retains the previous format of the Club World Cup and features six continental champions.
The latter is being expanded to include 32 teams in 2025 and will now be played every four years. The previous version of the Intercontinental Cup ran from 1960 to 2004 and featured champions from Europe and South America.
Madrid won the competition three times and went on to win the Club World Cup on a record five occasions.
They will once again play Pachuca at next year’s Club World Cup in the United States, along with an Al Hilal team including Neymar and Red Bull Salzburg.
Madrid host Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday in their final game of the year. They will return to the Middle East for the four-team Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in early January.