With the terrible year they’ve had in MLS, expectations weren’t exactly high for Galaxy ahead of their Leagues Cup quarterfinal match against Pachuca.
The Galaxy suffered embarrassing defeats during their past two MLS games, falling at home to the Seattle Sounders and on the road against Inter Miami.
However, Galaxy coach Greg Vanney’s players put the losses behind them and continued to perform well in Leagues Cup play, surprisingly eliminating Pachuca 2-1 on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Liga MX leading Pachuca entered the match as the favorite despite losing to Xolos de Tijuana at home last Saturday.
The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 27th minute thanks to an own goal by Pachuca defender Daniel Aceves, who seemed to be struggling with ball control and spacing.
Diego Fagundez took a short corner kick for Marco Reus, who sent in a low cross and Aceves, unfortunately for his team, pushed the ball into his own net to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.
The Galaxy kept pushing forward and their efforts soon paid off when Joseph Paintsil launched a swift attack down the left wing to Matheus Nascimento inside the box, who backheeled the ball to Reus to make it 2-0 in the 37th minute.
In the sixth minute of second half stoppage time, Pachuca found space to score a consolation goal. The goal came from a half-volley inside the box by Brazilian Alemao to make the score 2-1. The match ended a minute later, sending the Galaxy to the Leagues Cup semifinals.
All Mexican teams were eliminated from the tournament Wednesday night.
The Galaxy will play the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami will play Orlando City for spots in the Leagues Cup final.
Xabi Alonso gets his first victory as Madrid manager, despite his football side playing most of the game with only 10 players.
Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler scored late in the first half to help 10-man Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over Pachuca in a Group H clash played amid sweltering conditions in Charlotte, North Carolina, the United States.
Federico Valverde’s sliding volley in the 70th minute sealed Xabi Alonso’s first victory as Madrid manager on Sunday.
The result puts his side’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign back on track after a dramatic 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in Wednesday’s opener, and despite Sunday’s early dismissal of defender Raul Asencio.
Real Madrid can clinch a place in the last 16 with a win or draw against RB Salzburg on Thursday in Philadelphia. Al Hilal play Salzburg later on Sunday in Washington, DC.
Thibault Courtois made 10 saves for the victors, though he could do little on Elias Montiel’s 80th-minute deflected effort that provided Pachuca with a consolation goal.
The Mexican side was beaten despite leading their Spanish foes by 25-8 in shots overall and 11-3 in efforts on target.
But as in Pachuca’s 2-1 Wednesday loss to Salzburg, it was their opponents who had more quality in their attacks.
Referee Ramon Abatti showed no hesitation in dismissing Asencio in the seventh minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity after the Madrid defender hauled down Salomon Rondon just beyond the penalty area.
Real Madrid’s Raul Asencio walks off the pitch after being shown a red card [Susana Vera/Reuters]
But after absorbing pressure for most of the opening half-hour, the Spaniards raced out to a 2-0 lead in the half’s final 15 minutes.
In the 35th, Gonzalo Garcia’s quick flick-on freed Fran Garcia down the left. The latter then picked out the late run of Bellingham, who collected a square ball and slid his low finish past Carlos Moreno from 15 yards.
In the 43rd, it was Guler providing the finishing touch from inside the area on another flowing Madrid move, this time with Gonzalo Garcia providing the final square pass after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first-touch cross.
Pachuca continued to apply pressure after the break, with Courtois forced to push Bryan Gonzalez’s early-second-half effort over the bar and John Kennedy’s 61st-minute strike from distance well clear of his left post.
But Valverde’s well-taken goal effectively killed the game and Real Madrid held on for an impressive win.
Bellingham, who was named the player of the match, hailed the spirit of his teammates after the game.
“We stayed together well [after the red card]. Obviously, Raul [Asencio] made a mistake. He is young and it will happen,” he told DAZN.
“It was impressive to see how the team came together and won the game.”
Alonso singled out Courtois for praise.
“We are so happy to have [Courtois] in goal,” he told DAZN after the match.
“He was so reliable, especially when we had one player less. We defended with a lot of sacrifice and waited for our chances.”
In the earlier Club World Cup game on Sunday, Kenan Yildiz scored two goals and had a hand in another as Juventus beat Wydad Casablanca 4-1 to close in on a place in the last 16.
Who: Real Madrid vs Pachuca What: FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States When: Sunday, June 22,15:00 EDT | 12:00 PST | 19:00 GMT | 21:00 CEST
How to follow our coverage: We’ll have all the build-up from 12pm local (16:00 GMT ) on Al Jazeera Sport.
Spanish giants Real Madrid face Mexico’s Pachuca at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in a match that marks a rerun of the December FIFA Intercontinental Cup final.
Both sides are in need of a win in a group topped by Red Bull Salzburg.
Al Jazeera takes a look at a match that will heap the pressure on a potential loser.
How did Real Madrid and Pachuca fair in the first matches?
Real opened their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal as Federico Valverde missed the chance to hand Los Blancos all three points with a late penalty.
Gonzalo Garcia, who was stepping in for the fever-stricken Kylian Mbappe, gave Real the lead before Ruben Neves levelled from the spot for the Saudi Pro League side before halftime.
The match was Xabi Alonso’s first in charge of Real since replacing Carlo Ancelotti as manager.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso during training before the Pachuca clash [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
Pachuca were beaten 2-1 by Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg in their opening Group H fixture.
Oscar Gloukh gave Salzburg the lead just before the break. Bryan Gonzalez levelled in the 56th minute but Karim Onisiwo sealed the points with 14 minutes to play.
It is not known when he will be able to play at the Club World Cup.
The French forward, who was in “rough shape” according to his coach Xabi Alonso, has not been able to train since last Sunday.
Gastroenteritis is also known as stomach flu, and symptoms can include vomiting and diarrhoea.
What happened the last time Real Madrid met Pachuca?
Real qualified directly for the final of FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup in December on account of winning the UEFA Champions League.
Pachuca, as North American champions, were required to qualify for the final – beating Egypt’s African champions Al Ahly to set up the meeting with Madrid in Qatar.
Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior were all on target as Real romped to a 3-0 win to lift the inaugural Intercontinental Cup.
The tournament effectively replaced the old format of the FIFA Club World Cup and will be played out exclusively by the continental champions from around the world each year.
Real Madrid’s Luka Modric lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the Intercontinental Cup in 2024 [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]
How did Real Madrid qualify for the Club World Cup?
The Mexican side beat the Columbus Crew 3-0 in the 2024 final of North America’s continental club competition, the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Former English Premier League striker Salomon Rondon scored twice, with Miguel Rodriguez also netting, as Pachuca picked up a sixth continental title.
Cruz Azul beat Vancouver Whitecaps in last season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final to set up their chance of appearing at the next FIFA Club World Cup.
How many Club World Cups have Real Madrid won?
Real Madrid’s win against Al Hilal in the 2023 final was their fifth Club World Cup in its various previous guises.
That does not include lifting the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December after their victory against Pachuca, despite that competition taking on the former format of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger during training as he continues his comeback from injury [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
Real Madrid team news
Mbappe’s absence means Real are likely to stick with Garcia in attack.
Brazilian forward Endrick, who would usually act as Mbappe’s understudy, has been forced to sit out the tournament with a hamstring injury. Ferland Mendy is also an injury absentee from the tournament.
Antonio Rudiger could be in line for a return to action following his own injury layoff, although the game is likely to be too soon for Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga.
Pachuca team news
Pachuca are set to name an unchanged side with no new injury worries, meaning a link-up in attack for former Premier League pairing Rondon and Kenedy once more.
The latter, a former Chelsea forward, is on loan from fellow Mexican club Real Valladolid.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Asencio, Huijsen, F Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, G Garcia, Vinicius
