Real Madrid, as expected but to my dismay, defeated Juventus again 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. The match was played on 1 July at Miami Hard Rock Stadium. It featured top-class football talents from Real Madrid as well as a sort of ok talent from Juve.
The lone goal came in the 54th minute when Gonzalo García headed the ball into the net, securing the victory for Real Madrid. Juventus was very good throughout the game (they would have been better if Kolo had scored), and their goalkeeper Di Gregorio made several great saves to keep it low. Despite their strong effort, Juventus couldn’t find a way past Real Madrid’s defences (nothing new for this season), and this could have been due, once again, to the lack of Dušan Vlahović on the pitch, the man is an undervalued athlete that can do wonders when playing with the correct line-up.
Real Madrid’s forward, Kylian Mbappé, made his tournament debut as a substitute, returning after recovering from an illness. His presence gave the team a boost of energy during the second half. Real Madrid’s next opponent will be Borussia Dortmund, in the quarterfinals. The winner of the quarterfinals will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals.
Real Madrid continue to pursue global club football glory while Juve return to Turin.