Real Madrid booked their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals with a dramatic 3–2 win over Borussia Dortmund in a pulsating quarter-final on Saturday.
Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring for Madrid in the 10th minute, latching onto Arda Guler’s lofted pass. Fran Garcia made it 2–0 ten minutes later with a calm finish. Dortmund struggled to respond in the first half, with Courtois denying Pascal Gross and Karim Adeyemi.
The second half saw Dortmund make changes, but Real maintained control. Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric came close for Madrid before Maximilian Beier pulled one back in the 93rd minute. Mbappe restored Madrid’s two-goal cushion a minute later.
Drama unfolded when Dean Huijsen was sent off for a shirt pull in the box. “It was a clear foul,” the referee ruled. Serhou Guirassy converted the penalty in the 98th minute. Marcel Sabitzer nearly equalized in the 100th, but Courtois saved superbly to seal Madrid’s place in the semi-finals.