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5 hours ago
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Real Madrid have secured their first win under new manager Xabi Alonso. The win came from the club's second match of the Club World Cup, which saw the Spanish giants secure a 3-1 win against Mexican side Pachuca.
Alonso's side earned all three points after a hard fought match. The club went down to 10 men after a red card was shown to Raúl Asencio early in the match for a clear foul on Salomón Rondón.
Real Madrid were a man down for the majority of the match, but the team showed great poise to come out on top.
What did Xabi Alonso say about his team after the match?
Addressing the media after the match, Alonso said, "With 10 men, we had to take a different approach. The players did well even in half-time. It was a stressful situation to play with 10 men for all the game, but we did well."
The manager also addressed Asencio's red card, saying, "He needs to learn from this experience. We will talk later - he is still young."
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Asencio was caught out on the ball and as Rondón pounced on his error, the young defender brought the forward down. Asencio was shown a straight red card for denying the goal-scoring opportunity, and Real fell to 10 men for the rest of the match.
The red card means that Asencio will miss Real's match against Salzburg on Thursday.
Alonso also had plenty of praise for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who came up with several important saves. The manager said, "We are so happy to have him in goal. He was so reliable, especially when we had one player less. We defended with a lot of sacrifice and waited for our chances."
Courtois has been a staple in the goal for Real Madrid, and the goalkeeper is nearing a new deal to keep him at the Bernabéu, which will give Alonso's team another boost.
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