CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler netted first-half goals, with a depleted Real Madrid rebounding from a lackluster display in their Club World Cup opener to secure a 3-1 victory over Pachuca on Sunday, witnessed by 70,248 fans at Bank of America Stadium.
Seven minutes in, defender Raul Asencio received a red card, forcing Real Madrid to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power.
Bellingham opened the scoring for Madrid in the 35th minute, receiving a pass from Fran Garcia just inside the area and firing a perfectly placed left-footed strike past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into the right corner.
Güler extended the lead to 2-0 eight minutes later, delivering a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner, assisted by Gonzalo García. Federico Valverde capped off the triumph in the second half with a sliding right-footed effort, following an assist from Brahim Díaz.
Goalkeeper Thabaut Courtois was on form with five saves in the first half. He turned away two point-blank shots in the early going and finished with 10 saves.
Elías Montiel ended Courtois’ bid for a shutout when he scored in the 80th minute for Pachuca, which fell to 0-2 in group play.
Kylian Mbappé has missed both Club World Cup starts after being hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. He did not travel to Charlotte, but the team remains hopeful that he’ll be ready to play on Thursday night against Salzburg.
