Soccer Football – FIFA Club World Cup – Quarter Final – Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. – July 5, 2025 Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Lee Smith
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal of the Club World Cup as Real Madrid held on to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a chaotic quarterfinal at MetLife Stadium on Saturday afternoon to set up a mouthwatering semifinal with PSG, which will also be played in the shadow of New York City.
First-half goals from Gonzalo and Fran Garcia looked to have secured a deserved victory for Xabi Alonso’s side before Dortmund threatened to stage a dramatic fightback in second-half injury time.
Dortmund substitute Maximilian Meier pulled a goal back for the Bundesliga side two minutes into injury time.
Mbappe, on as a second-half substitute, instantly restored Madrid’s two-goal advantage with an emphatic volley, marking his first goal at the tournament after missing all of the group stages after being hospitalized with an acute case of gastroenteritis.
There was still time for Dortmund to close the gap once again when Serhou Guirassy converted a penalty after being hauled down in the area by Dean Huijsen, who was sent off for denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
The 10 men of Madrid suddenly found themselves inexplicably hanging on in a game they had dominated from start to finish, with Thibaut Courtois producing a fingertip save from Marcel Sabitzer to prevent a last-gasp Dortmund equalizer.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said his side was “too passive” in the opening period and credited Courtois for producing a fine save at the death. However, he magnanimously acknowledged that Madrid was the deserved winner and said it would have been “unfair” if his side snatched a draw and took the game to extra time.
Alonso, meanwhile, said his side is “so lucky” to have Courtois between the posts and credited his ‘keeper for the last-gasp heroics.
Dortmund started brightly, enjoying plenty of possession, and should have taken the lead on six minutes when Julian Brandt met Daniel Svensson’s cross but directed his powerful header narrowly wide of the post from close range.
Brandt – and Dortmund – were made to pay for that miss four minutes later when Gonzalo volleyed Madrid into the lead. The 21-year-old was completely unmarked as he cushioned a volley past Gregor Kobel from the edge of the six-yard box after ghosting between Niklas Sule and Ramy Bensebaini.
The goal was the youngster’s fourth of the tournament as he continues his meteoric rise this summer. Gonzalo had scored just one goal in six senior appearances for Madrid prior to the Club World Cup but has seized his moment with both hands, moving to the top of the competition’s scoring charts.
By now, Madrid was purring and doubled the lead on 20 minutes when right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold got to the byline and delivered a cutback across the Dortmund box. Left-back Fran Garcia arrived at the back post to apply the finishing touch, slotting home from 10 yards as Julian Ryerson was caught on his heels.
It was a goal reminiscent of Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, where full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo routinely combined to terrorize opponents across Germany and Europe.
Alonso said his fullbacks both have the quality to be attacking players but said his side has to attack with “balance in the middle” when it attacks through both fullbacks.
Dortmund continued to control the lion’s share of possession as the half wore on but did precious little with it as Madrid’s defense comfortably coped with a limp and toothless attack.
Alonso’s side should have pulled further in front before the break when Jude Bellingham, playing against his former club, broke into the Dortmund box following a free-flowing move just shy of the half-hour mark. The English midfielder dragged his shot narrowly wide, however.
Vinicius also came close to extending the Madrid lead when he attempted an audacious lob over Kobel from a full 40 yards, only to slightly overcook the effort.
Dortmund remained blunt in attack after the interval, struggling to create any meaningful chances or sustained pressure on the Madrid goal.
In a forgettable second half, Aurelien Tchouameni was inches away from curling a stunning long-range effort into the top corner but saw the shot rattle the Dortmund crossbar.
With their Club World Cup life on the line, Dortmund looked set to set up a last stand when Beier capitalized on a poor Antonio Rudiger clearance to arrow a half-volley into the bottom corner two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Mbappe appeared to extinguish any hopes of an improbable fightback when he produced an acrobatic close-range volley from Guler’s cross to restore Madrid’s two-goal advantage almost instantly. Mbappe poignantly dedicated the goal to Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car crash in northwest Spain on Thursday.
But there was to be yet more drama deep into injury time as referee Ramon Abatti awarded Dortmund a penalty after adjudging that Huijsen had hauled down Guirassy in the penalty area, also giving Huijsen his marching orders for denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Guirassy dusted himself down to power home the penalty in the eighth minute of added time to give Dortmund a glimmer of hope with around 30 seconds still left to play.
Madrid ultimately had Courtois to thank for a fine fingertip save from a fierce Marcel Sabitzer effort as Dortmund threw the kitchen sink at the La Liga side.
But Alonso’s charges held on to secure a semi-final berth and set up a date with European champions PSG on Wednesday afternoon.
