Online Reporter
REAL Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said on Saturday that he was looking forward to seeing how his new team measures up to European football champions Paris Saint-Germain after the sides set up a semi-final showdown at the Club World Cup.
Real beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in their last-eight tie at the MetLife Stadium, a few hours after PSG defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta. The Spanish giants and the French side will now clash at the MetLife Stadium in the semi-finals on Wednesday, and whoever emerges victorious will be seen as favourites to go on and win the competition.
“Today we played against a team who went far in the Champions League and now we face the winners, so this is going to be another little step up for us in this new project we are beginning,” said Alonso, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as Real coach just ahead of the tournament.
PSG, coached by Luis Enrique, succeeded Madrid as European champions after hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final in Munich in late May.
“They have been playing at a really high level since the last 16 of the Champions League and it will be a really big challenge for us.”
Real appeared to be cruising to a comfortable victory against Dortmund after goals in the first 20 minutes by young striker Gonzalo Garcia and left-back Fran Garcia.
But Maximilian Beier pulled one back for Dortmund in stoppage time, sparking a remarkable late flurry which saw Kylian Mbappe net an overhead kick and then Serhou Guirassy score a penalty for the Germans after Dean Huijsen was sent off.
“We can do better, but overall, it was a very serious performance and now we need to take the positives from this,” said Alonso, who will have to do without centre-back Huijsen against PSG due to suspension.
“The game has just ended so I am not yet thinking about the semis. I will have a couple of hours of peace but obviously it is not good news to have lost Huijsen.”
Alonso may now have a selection headache of another sort in attack, with Mbappe — used as a substitute on Saturday — pushing for a first start of the tournament against his old club after overcoming illness.
“He is still not perfect, not at 100 per cent, but he is improving every day,” Alonso said of the France superstar after he scored his 44th goal for the club since signing from PSG a year ago. — AFP Sport/Sports Reporter.
