Charlotte, June 23 -- Ten-man Real Madrid defeated Mexico's Pachuca 3-1 in their Group H clash at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday.
Madrid entered the match at Bank of America Stadium sitting second in the group behind FC Salzburg, following a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in their opener. The Spanish giant was without star striker Kylian Mbappe, who is recovering from gastroenteritis.
Center back Raul Asencio was shown a straight red card just seven minutes into the match for fouling Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon as the last defender outside the box.
Despite being down a man, Vinicius Jr. nearly capitalized on a defensive error a few minutes later. Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno miscontrolled a soft back pass but managed to...