Philadelphia, June 27: Vinicius Junior scored a goal and assisted on another in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Salzburg that secured the Spanish powerhouse first place in the Club World Cup’s Group H and a spot in the round of 16.
Vinicius gave the 64,811 soaking wet fans at Lincoln Financial Field something to cheer for by scoring on a left-footed shot right outside the penalty box in the 40th minute. Jude Bellingham left Vinícius in position to score with a breakaway pass that took advantage of the wet field conditions caused by the rain.
Eight minutes later, a deflected pass by Mamady Diambou left Vinícius one-on-one against Joane Gadou inside Salzburg’s penalty box. Having no angle to shoot, Vinícius delivered a backheel pass to Federico Valverde that left the Uruguayan wide open to score from 10 yards out.
Antonio Rüdiger suffered an apparent hamstring injury in the 60th minute after completing a long sprint down the right wing. He continued playing, but was subbed out six minutes later. His availability will be one to watch for Real Madrid’s upcoming game as they are thin at the center back position due to multiple injuries and a suspension to Raúl Asencio.
Gonzalo García put the game to bed in the 84th minute with a chip shot after a counterattack he initiated by stealing the ball from Gadou in midfield.
With the win, Real Madrid became the ninth European team to advance to the round of 16. From the 12 European teams in the tournament, only Atlético Madrid, Porto, and Salzburg were eliminated in the group stage.
Key momentVinícius’ backheel pass to set up Valverde inside the penalty box to score Madrid’s second goal.
TakeawaysReal Madrid finished atop Group H with seven points. Madrid will face Juventus, a 5-2 loser to Manchester City, on Tuesday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Salzburg finished third in Group H with four points. They were eliminated as Al Hilal finished with five points, one more than the Austrian team, after defeating Pachuca 2-0 on Thursday night.
What they said“Vinícius is essential for us. He has the capacity to do a lot of things for the team without and with the ball. So, I’m really happy for him. We have to keep it up and so does he.” — Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni
“We learned a lot. We played against the best teams in the world, competed at a high level, and that’s what we take out of the tournament from the experience we got. We lost, we won, and we drew. So it’s a lot to learn, but it was good for us.” — Salzburg defender Frans Krätzig. (AP)
