Club World Cup: Ighalo leads Al-Hilal’s charge against Real Madrid

In today’s Club World Cup final in Morocco against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, which also features former Super Eagles star Odion Ighalo, Real Madrid have shown they can score goals even when forced to play without superstar Karim Benzema.

After a rocky start to 2023, Carlo Ancelotti’s team, the current European and Spanish champions, hopes to win the competition for a sixth time and regain confidence.

The semi-final was missed by Madrid captain Karim Benzema due to a thigh injury, but he will train with the team on Friday before the final.

Los Blancos, who have already won four times, are the clear favorites to defeat Al-Hilal after defeating Al Ahly, an Egyptian team, 4-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday.

During Ancelotti’s first managerial tenure, Madrid won the competition in 2014, as well as in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Along with youngster Sergio Arribas off the bench, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Fede Valverde lined up in attack and all scored in the victory.

Even if Madrid wasn’t at their best, the strikers’ cutting edge allowed them to overtake the 10-time champions of the African Champions League in the last minutes.

Benzema’s injury, according to Ancelotti, was not significant, but given his team’s dominant performance, the coach might decide to start the match with the Ballon d’Or winner on the bench even if he is well.

Madrid has dropped eight points behind their rivals in the fight for the La Liga championship since losing to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup in January.