Real Madrid vs Al Hilal live score, updates, highlights and lineups with Valverde at the double as Los Blancos cruise towards CWC glory

By | February 11, 2023
0 Comment

Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde scored inside the opening 20 minutes as Real Madrid took charge of the Club World Cup final against Al Hilal.

Karim Benzema returned to the starting lineup after injury and slotted a cute pass for Vinicius to slot home in the 13th minute.

Five minutes later it was 2-0, with Valverde the beneficiary after Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf failed to deal with Luka Modric’s low cross.

Madrid are aiming to win their fifth Club World Cup, but their ambitions were checked when Mousa Marega pulled a goal back for the 18-time Saudi champions in the 25th minute.

The Sporting News is following the match live and providing live score updates and commentary below:

MORE: Real Madrid vs Al-Hilal: Kick off time, TV channel, stream, betting odds for Club World Cup final

Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal live score

  1H 2H Final
RMA 2 3 —
ALH 1 1 —

Goals:

RMA — Vinicius Junior (Karim Benzema) — 13th minute

RMA — Federico Valverde — 18th minute

ALH — Mousa Marega (Mohammed Kanno) — 25th minute

RMA — Karim Benzema (Vinicius Junior) — 54th minute

RMA — Federico Valverde (Dani Carvajal) — 58th minute

ALH — Luciano Vietto (Saud Abdulhamid) — 63rd minute

RMA — Vinicius Junior (Dani Ceballos) — 69th minute

Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal live updates, highlights from the Club World Cup final

70th minute: Federico Valverde goes in search of an unlikely hat-trick but Abdullah Al-Mayouf tips over.

69th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Vinicius Junior!!!

It continues to rain goals in Rabat. Vinicius’ dancing feet perplex poor Saud Abdulhamid once again. The ball runs to Dani Ceballos, who looks like he’s shaping to shoot, but Vinicius politely tells him to clear off out of the way and drills a shot into the net.

63rd minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Luciano Vietto!!!

Al Hilal won’t be dissuaded, especially when it comes to that channel down the Madrid left. Of course that’s where Vietto pops up to dink home a lovely finish. Game on? Maybe not, be fair play to them!

61st minute: Real Madrid were about to make a double change with Dani Ceballos and Rodrygo coming on. They still will, but Aurelin Tchouameni departs after suffering an injury. Ancelotti’s men are back in LaLiga action in midweek so he’ll hope that isn’t too serious. Karim Benzema’s work is also done.

58th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Federico Valverde!!!

Brilliant from Madrid. This time it’s the wide right attacker and full-back who combine. Valverde charges forward with intent and plays a slick one-two with Dani Carvajal before dispatching an unerring finish beyond Abdullah Al-Mayouf.

54th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Karim Benzema!!!

Madrid’s two-goal lead is restored as Benzema gets his goal. But this was all about Vinicius Junior, who exchanged passes with Eduardo Camavinga and then unleashed an outrageous outside-of-the-boot cross for Benzema to gleefully dispatch from close range.

52nd minute: It honestly feels like Mousa Marega has the freedom of that section of the pitch right now. An improvised backheel doesn’t find its target but he’s clearly a huge danger to Madrid.

49th minute: Mousa Marega is back into his work down that right channel. He cuts a ball back into the box, where Antonio Rudiger is able to use his superior bulk to usher Luciano Vietto away from the ball.

46th minute: We’re back underway and there’s an early half-chance for Toni Kroos, who fizzes one wide from outside the box. The German playmaker is seeking to win a sixth Club World Cup, having prevailed with Bayern Munich in 2013 before racking up four titles with Real Madrid.

Halftime: Drama right before halftime as Al Hilal appeal for a penalty. Salem Al-Dawsari – you remember him, he scored Saudi Arabia’s spectacular winner against Argentina in their opening game at the World Cup – went down under a challenge from Rudiger. Referee Anthony Taylor was right on the spot and he waved away the protests. Ramon Diaz’s side head in for the break very much in this game. That did not look like being the case 20 minutes in. See you back here shortly.

45th minute+1: Now Modric tries his luck from distance. Abdullah Al-Mayouf is up to the challenge

45th minute: Another low Modric delivery causes a little havoc in the Al Hilal box. Jang Hyun-soo stoops to clear.

41st minute: Delightful away-swinging cross from the right by Federico Valverde. Think David Beckham and Kevin De Bruyne. Karim Benzema is unable to convert.

37th minute: Mousa Marega again! Real Madrid cannot handle the Mali forward and his runs pulling towards the right flank. He gets in between Eduardo Camavinga and Antonio Rudiger, with the latter making his presence felt just enough as Marega smashes over the near upright. 

33rd minute: There’s a good deal more swagger about Al Hilal’s play since Marega’s goal, with Kanno to the fore. Perhaps Real Madrid won’t have the routine night that looked to be on the cards.

25th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Mousa Marega!!!

Well, well, well. Real Madrid were absolutely coasting but some slack play has let Al Hilal back into this. Los Blancos were caught high up the field and Marega charged through and hammered a shot through Andriy Lunin.

20th minute: Real Madrid are having a ball here. Karim Benzema unleashes a venomous strike from range and Al-Mayouf produces a sharp save

18th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Federico Valverde!!!

Al-Mayouf fails to deal with Modric’s low cross, his defence can’t record and Valverde lashes home. It’s a long way back for the Saudi side now.

14th minute: Al Hilal look for an instant replay and that’s not far away from Luciano Vietto, whose low strike from 25 yards skids across the turn and just past the left-hand post.

13th minute: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!! Vinicius Junior!!!

Madrid have been patient, moving Al Hilal around, with Modric to the fore, and Vinicius has his second goal of the tournament, scooting in behind the defence and slotting home Karim Benzema’s cute pass. Al-Mayouf got a boot on in, but it wasn’t enough.

4th minute: Al Hilal deal with the corner… and here come Ramon Diaz’s team at the other end. Mousa Marega makes his presence felt and tees up Luciano Vietto, who runs out of road before the offside flag goes up. Still, that’s an early warning of the front two’s capabilities.

3rd minute: Early corner for Madrid as the returning Dani Carvajal and Federico Valverde combine well down the right. The Uruguay international’s low cross is scrambled behind.

1st minute: Peeeep! We’re underway.

5 mins from kickoff: Here come the teams after the obligatory bash through Thunderstruck by AC/DC. A reliably consistent performer at FIFA events. 

20 mins from kickoff: Madrid’s defence will have to contend with an Al-Hilal attack that boasts Champions League pedigree. Luciano Vietto, formerly of Atletico Madrid and Sevilla among others, excelled in the win over Flamengo, while ex-Porto powerhouse Mousa Marega will lead the line.

30 mins from kickoff: The return of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is obviously huge for Real Madrid and it gives the experienced striker a chance to garnish what has been a frustrating season so far with his latest piece of silverware. A haul of 13 goals across 21 appearances marks a solid return overall across all competitions but Benzema has had to endure four separate periods of the sidelines with injury. These range from the minor knock that ruled him out of Madrid’s most recent LaLiga match against Real Mallorca to the thigh injury that ended his World Cup dream with France.

50 mins from kickoff: And this is the Al Hilal XI. Former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo will have to make do with a place on the bench.

1 hour from kickoff: Here’s what the Real Madrid lineup looks like.

1 hr 20 mins from kickoff: Flamengo have bounced back from their shock defeat to Al Hilal in the semis by beating Al Ahly 4-2 in the third-place match.

1 hr 40 mins from kickoff: Despite grappling with an injury-ravaged squad, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti oversaw a serene 4-1 win over Al Ahly to reach this final. Could the 2023 Club World Cup be the last honour Ancelotti wins during his decorated career in European club football? The veteran Italian coach has been linked with becoming Brazil boss at the end of this season but dismissed those rumours at his pre-match news conference. Still, with Barcelona eight points clear at the top of LaLiga, lifting this trophy would be a timely boost for the 14-time European champions.

2 hours from kickoff: Hello and welcome to the Sporting News’ coverage of the Club World Cup final between Real Madrid and Al Hilal.

Real Madrid vs Al Hilal lineups

Los Blancos had a long injury list ahead of this one. Thibaut Courtois, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao, Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema were among those to miss the semi-final.

Goalkeeper Courtois missed out once more, defender Militao is on the bench and Ballon d’Or-winning striker Benzema is back to lead the line against Al-Hilal.

Real Madrid lineup (4-3-3): Lunin (GK) — Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Camavinga — Kroos, Tchouameni, Modric — Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Saudi Arabia left-back Yasser Al-Shahrani remains out for Al-Hilal with a fractured jaw he sustained during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Peru winger Andre Carrillo has been passed fit despite a suspected ligament injury during Al Hilal’s semifinal.

“Flamengo didn’t expect that we would change our formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-1-1, with Luciano Vietto as an attacking midfielder,” said Diaz.

“Vietto ghosted behind their holding midfielders, who we identified were not good on challenges. And he was brilliant, earning both penalties and scoring a great goal for us.”

Former Argentina youth international Vietto joined Al Hilal in 2020 from Sporting Lisbon and has had spells at clubs including Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia and Fulham.

The 29-year-old lines up behind former Porto striker Mousa Marega, with Odion Ighalo having to be content with a place on the bench.

Al-Hilal predicted lineup (4-4-1-1): Al-Mayouf (GK) – Saud, Al-Bulayhi, Jang, Khalifah – Cuellar, Kanno, Carrillo, Al-Dawsari – Vietto – Marega

MORE: When is the Champions League returning? Dates, schedule, fixtures and games for European football in 2023

Real Madrid vs Al Hilal live stream, TV channel

Here’s how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:

  TV channel Streaming
USA Fox Sports 2 Fox Sports, Fifa+
Canada — Fifa+
UK – Fifa+
Australia – SBS, Fifa+
New Zealand Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports, Sky Sport 3 NZ SKY Go, beIN Sports Connect, Fifa+
India – Fifa+
Hong Kong – Fifa+
Malaysia – Fifa+
Singapore – Fifa+

UK: Club World Cup matches are available to stream in the UK via Fifa+, where viewers around the world can also follow the action live.

USA: Fox Sports is broadcasting the final, which is also available on the platform’s app, website and on Spanish-language channel Fox Deportes.

Canada: Canadian fans can tune in on FIFA+.

Australia: SBS and SBS On Demand will be covering the final for Australian supporters.

MORE: Real Madrid vs Al Ahly final score, result as Los Blancos clinch FIFA Club World Cup final spot

Source