Real Madrid players celebrate at the awarding ceremony of the FIFA Club World Cup in Rabat, Morocco on Feb. 11, 2023. Real Madrid beat Al Hilal 5-3 in the final. (Xinhua)
RABAT, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid were crowned the FIFA Club World Cup champions in the Moroccan city of Rabat on Saturday night after beating Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal 5-3.
Vinicius Jr and Fede Valverde both scored twice, while Karim Benzema, who was back in the side after injury, also hit the target for Real Madrid.
Vinicius opened the scoring in the 13th minute, sliding the ball home when put clean through on goal, and Valverde doubled Madrid's lead in the 18th minute with a volley that took a slight deflection off a defender.
It started to look as if the game would be a stroll for the Spanish side, but Moussa Marega gave Al Hilal a lifeline as he found a gap in the heart of the Madrid defense to slip the ball past the helpless Andriy Lunin.
Real Madrid looked to slow the ball down after the goal, but Benzema and Luka Modric both went close before halftime, with the Spaniards, who beat Egyptian outfit Al Ahly in the semifinal, on top.
Benzema scored in the 54th minute, taking advantage of an excellent cross from Vinicius, who was enjoying some defending that was less rigorous than he usually receives in Spain.
More gaps in the Al Hilal backline allowed Valverde to score a fourth for Madrid in the 58th minute as he was able to run onto a measured pass from Dani Carvajal.
It looked once again that the game was over, but Luciano Vietto took advantage of some generous defending from Madrid to net Al Hilal's second in the 63rd minute.
Vinicius made it 5-2 in the 69th minute when Dani Ceballos was unable to control and the ball ran kindly for him to score. Although Vietto scored his second of the night soon afterwards, there was no way back for his side. ■
