In the early hours of December 19th, a marquee match was staged at the Roussel Stadium in Doha, Qatar, as Real Madrid battled Pachuca, who are ranked 16th in the Mexican Superliga.
At the beginning of the game, Vinicius and Mbappe's "200 million line" instantly lit the fire, Mbappe skillfully used Vinicius's assist to break the deadlock, at the end of the first half, Real Madrid to 1-0 lead. In the second half, Mbappe again showed speed, assisted Rodrigo broke the goal, the score was extended to 2-0. then, Vazquez with a subtle penalty kick, once again for Real Madrid to lock the win.
In the end, Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup trophy, their second of the season, with a 3-0 victory over Pachuca.
Before the match, Coach Carlo Ancelotti lined up a 4231 formation for Real Madrid, with Mbappe leading the attacking line, Bellingham dispatching in midfield, and Vinicius and Rodrigo on the wings. The back position was held by Valverde and Camarvinga, while the four defenders were Vazquez, Joan Armeni, Rüdiger and F. Garcia, with Courtois guarding the goal, the total value of the starting lineup was as high as 1.07 billion euros. Pachuca, on the other hand, also played in a 4231 formation, with a starting lineup worth just 27.7 million euros, with Long Dong, a Chinese Super League veteran, as their key player.
However, the huge gap in strength was evident in the game. Despite Real Madrid's 65% possession, both sides had the same number of shots on goal, 12. Real Madrid's shots were of higher quality, with five on target compared to Pachuca's four. This victory could not have been achieved without the individual abilities of the 300 million euro gentlemen. Vinicius' pinpoint assist, Mbappe's easy breakaway, Rodrigo's multiple dinks, and Vazquez's penalty kick were all key to Real Madrid's win.
It's worth noting that despite Pachuca being in the bottom three of the Mexican Super League, both teams showed a strong desire to attack in this match. Real Madrid's victory in terms of conversion rate and efficiency is further proof of their superiority in terms of strength.
