Al-Jazira 1 – 2 Real Madrid – Club World Cup quick recap

Al-Jazira 1 – 2 Real Madrid. Madrid earn a hard-fought victory after a ridiculously entertaining ninety minutes of football. Here is your quick recap of Madrid’s Club World Cup semi-final victory.

First Half

It was an absolutely crazy first 45 minutes of football in Abu Dhabi, but if you had to boil it down to two words, the story of the first half would be: Ali Khaseif. Al-Jazira’s goalkeeper was on a whole other level, and looked completely possessed with other-worldly form.

Khaseif made stop, after stop, and managed to make not one, not two, but three point-blank saves on Cristiano Ronaldo in the opening blushes of the match. Things looked a bit dicey for a minute as Khaseif went down with injury, but eventually saw out the rest of the eventful half.

But Al-Jazira weren’t just bailed out by their goalkeeper; they also benefitted from the help of the referee and VAR. In the first action of the match, the ref ruled that Luka Modric handed the ball down in Al-Jazira’s box, stopping a dangerous play from materializing. He then later made the same call against Isco, this time for an even more specious “hand ball”.

Things got really bonkers when the disallowed goals started happening. First, it was Karim Benzema, who was And then, Casemiro had another goal disallowed. But after the immediate ruling that the goal would not stand, the referee went over to consult with his assistant, and ruled that there was a goal.

Then, the play was stopped, as the referees placed the goal under official Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. Finally, Casemiro’s goal was eventually ruled off due to Karim Benzema being in an offside position and interrupting the play. It was really messy, and awkward to watch happen, but it seems as if the referee ultimately got the decision right.

Real Madrid were offensively dominant in the first half, but they didn’t have things all their own way. Al-Jazira managed to cut their way through Madrid’s midfield on the counter-attack a few different times. Eventually they found the break they needed as Casemiro totally biffed his attempted tackle to interrupt the counter-attack, and Romarinho slipped the ball past Keylor Navas.

The half ended with Al-Jazira taking a surprise 1-0 lead into the break, and Madrid were left wondering what went wrong.

Second Half

The second half carried on much as the first, with Madrid pouring pressure on their opponents on the offensive end of the pitch, and Al-Jazira breaking through dangerously on the counter-attack. Madridista hearts began breaking as Al-Jazira poked through a second goal after another counter where Madrid’s defense looked totally inept. But fortunately for Madrid, this time VAR came to their assistance, and the goal was called off for offside.

There was set to be more bad luck for Al-Jazira in the second half, as the star of the first half, the goalkeeper Ali Khasheif, was forced off the pitch due to injury. He was undoubtedly Al-Jazira’s best player in the first half, and Al-Jazira certainly had to dread the moment he left the pitch.

More from The Real Champs

• The Xabi Factor: What Alonso could bring to Real Madrid as manager
• Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
• Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
• Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
• Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool

Real Madrid capitalized on the opportunity almost immediately, as Luka Modric snuck a brilliant through ball into Ronaldo who tucked the ball away instantly into the back of  the net. 1-1 to Real Madrid, as Ronaldo put his mark on the match, scoring his sixth goal in the Club World Cup.

The rest of the match saw Real Madrid chasing down the win with vigor, but still leaving plenty of opportunities for Al-Jazira to counter. Eventually Vazquez and Asensio came on for Isco and Kovacic, providing Madrid with a bit more pace and intensity in the attack.

But the man who would really go on to change the match was none other than Gareth Bale, who saw his first minutes of football since Madrid’s Copa del Rey match against Fuenlabrada. Bale was barely on the pitch for two minutes before the ball landed to his feet in Al-Jazira’s box, and he found the bottom corner. Ronaldo nearly claimed the goal with a back-heel, but replay showed it was clearly Gareth’s doing.

That goal deflated Al-Jazira’s spirit which had been on full display throughout the rest of the match. It was an entertaining, hijinks-filled ninety minutes, but Madrid came through the victors. With that, Madrid advances to the finals.

Next: Club World Cup injury update

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more coverage of this match and the rest of the Club World Cup.