Mbappé’s Bicycle Kick Secures Real Madrid’s Spot
PSG Advances to Club World Cup Semifinals
Acrobatic brilliance defined the Club World Cup quarterfinal as Kylian Mbappé’s bicycle kick sealed a thrilling 3-2 victory for Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund, marking a dramatic return after illness.
Sensational Goals
Missing the group stage due to gastroenteritis, Mbappé made a remarkable comeback, converting Arda Güler’s cross in stoppage time, extending The whites’ lead. Earlier, Gonzalo García and Fran García scored within the first 20 minutes, thanks to assists from Güler and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Late-Game Chaos
The final minutes saw a flurry of action. Maximilian Beier narrowed the gap in the 92nd minute, yet Mbappé quickly responded. Honoring the late Diogo Jota, Mbappé gestured to the crowd by holding up a two and a zero with his fingers. Jota, who tragically died recently in a car crash, wore the number 20 jersey for Liverpool before his death.
Adding to the drama, Carney Chukwuemeka set up Serhou Guirassy, who was then fouled by Dean Huijsen. Guirassy converted the penalty following Huijsen’s red card.
Nearly completing a comeback, Marcel Sabitzer’s shot was denied by Thibaut Courtois in the 99th minute, much to the crowd’s relief. According to recent data, stoppage-time goals have increased by 15% in major soccer leagues over the past decade, highlighting the importance of late-game intensity (FIFA.com).
Coaches’ Reactions
“It’s football,”
said Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso, regarding the match’s frantic conclusion. “The truth is that up until the 80th minute, up until 2-1, we controlled the game quite well.”
Alonso admitted, “too many things happened in a short period,”
but noted, “We’re in the semis, we’re happy, and hopefully it’s helped us not to get carried away, not to stop playing with that connection, with that presence of mind in every minute.”
PSG Advances, but Injury Mars Victory
Real Madrid will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinal, after the Parisians defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 earlier that day.
Désiré Doué, a key player in PSG’s Champions League final win, opened the scoring in the 78th minute against Bayern Munich.
Despite late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández, PSG secured their victory with a goal in the 96th minute. Achraf Hakimi assisted Ousmane Dembélé after weaving through Bayern’s defense.
However, the match was overshadowed by an injury to Bayern’s Jamal Musiala, who collided with Gianluigi Donnarumma and appeared to twist his ankle.
“I’ve rarely been so angry at halftime, not against my players. There’s many things in life that are important, much more important than this. But in the end, for these guys it’s their life,”
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany told reporters.
“And someone like Jamal lives for this and he came back from a setback. And then it happens in the way it happens and you feel powerless…”
“When I’m sat here next to you now, the thing that gets my blood still boiling at the moment, it’s not the result. I understand this is football. But it’s the fact that it happened to someone who, one, enjoys the game so much but also very important for us.”
While Saturday’s matches drew large crowds, other tournament games, like the semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense, saw ticket prices plummet due to lack of interest, dropping from $473.90 to $13.40, according to AP.
FIFA has used a dynamic pricing system for this summer’s Club World Cup, previously reducing prices for Chelsea’s and Fluminense’s quarterfinal matches, per AP.
