Real Madrid were crowned champions of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup courtesy of a 3-0 win over Mexican side Pachuca on Wednesday night, with Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo Goes on the scoresheet for Carlo Ancelotti’s side either side of half-time before Vinícius Júnior added a third from the penalty spot with six minutes remaining.
Three answers
1. Would Kylian Mbappé be fit to start?
Having come off injured with a thigh injury against Atalanta only eight days, few expected Kylian Mbappé to be back in action quite so quickly. The 25-year-old forward was included in the travelling squad and from that moment on it seemed likely that Mbappé could feature in some aspect, given that he has started practically every game he has been available for since arriving at the club in the summer. The Frenchman lasted 60 minutes and grabbed a goal and an assist, both fairly simple in turning in a tap-in after smart work by Vinícius Júnior, and the assist a straight forward short pass to Rodrygo Goes who produced an excellent finish from distance. At th etime of his substitution, he led the stats for chances created with two and for completed dribbles with not five. Not a bad rteurn at all for the forward.
2. How much of a test would Pachuca pose?
Despite reaching the final of the Intercontinental Cup, Pachuca are no real test for a team of the quality of Real Madrid. Having finished 16th in the Liga MX Apertura stage, with only three wins from 17 games, this should have been a much easier path to victory, at least in the first half, for Real Madrid. Pachuca needed penalties to beat Egyptian side Al Ahly, while their star man is 35-year-old Salomon Rondon whose career peaked 13 years ago when he scored 16 goals in a season for Málaga. Like Vinícius’ penalty, while Real Madrid got the job done and did what they needed to do, it wasn’t quite as comfortable as many Madridistas may have hoped for given the quality of the opposition.
3. Would Carlo Ancelotti break Miguel Muñoz’s record?
With victory in Qatar, Carlo Ancelotti has become Real Madrid’s most decorated ever coach. The Italian took his trophy count with Los Blancos to 15 by winning the Intercontinental Cup. It adds to his victories in La Liga on two occasions, in 2022 and 2024, the Copa del Rey twice in 2014 and 2023, the Supercopa de España twice in 2022 and 2024, the UEFA Champions League three times, in 2014, 2022 and 2024, the UEFA Super Cup on three occasions in 2014, 2022 and 2024, the FIFA Club World Cup twice in 2014 and 2022, and now the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024. Muñoz won 14 trophies between 1961 and 1972, and the only other man to break into double digits has been Zinedine Zidane with 11 titles.
Three questions
1. Why didn’t Real Madrid rotate more?
Real Madrid, including Jude Bellingham as recently as the pre-match press conference for this very game, have not held back in their criticism of the fixture schedule. “The load of minutes accumulates, causes fatigue and that takes its toll. There comes a point that affects performance, especially when you compete against strong opponents and you need speed,” Bellingham said. “But that’s the way it is. We have to play a lot of games and we will try to do our best. In the summer you can rest a lot, but now we have matches every three days.” Despite that, Carlo Ancelotti lined up with his strongest possible team selection despite this game being a seemingly easy fixture on paper. It could have been a chance to give minutes to the likes of Endrick Felipe, Dani Ceballos or Raúl Asencio, but the coach instead opted not to take any risks and to go full strength with his line-up.
2. How many more trophies will follow this season?
This is technically the second trophy of the 2024/25 campaign, following on from the UEFA Super Cup which was achieved in Poland in August after beating Atalanta. That was the win which qualified Real Madrid for this tournament in Qatar, qualifying directly for the final. Next up for Real Madrid is the Supercopa de España which will take place in Saudi Arabia in early January, which could secure a treble before Real Madrid have even passed the halfway point of the season. Hopes remain alive in La Liga and the Champions League, while Los Blancos have not yet kicked a ball in the Copa del Rey and are already into the round of 32 against Deportiva Minera in early January. There’s a strong chance this isn’t the last silverware of the season.
3. What impact will this game have on the La Liga fixture against Sevilla?
Real Madrid will travel back to Spain tomorrow morning to begin preparations for their La Liga fixture against Sevilla at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday. They are one of only five Spanish sides to be in midweek action, while Sevilla will have eight days of rest having not played since their win over Celta Vigo on Saturday evening. Carlo Ancelotti must now prepare his team for a game with three training sessions to do so, which is nothing new to anyone at the club, but they do so with plenty of miles in the bag after their travels this week. Pachuca may not have been the most demanding physical test of the season, but the lack of squad depth and rotation means that it could be a push for some players late on against Sevilla come Sunday. After that, the team will have almost two weeks with no games over the winter break.