Al Ahly v Real Madrid Live Commentary & Result, 08/02/23, FIFA Club World Cup

That's all for today, thanks for joining us. Goodbye!

Real Madrid go forward to the final where they will take on Al Hilal on Saturday. They looked sharper than they have been in LaLiga, so you would strongly fancy them to pick up a record fifth Club World Cup trophy.

Real Madrid ended up comfortable winners but the 4-1 scoreline flattered them slightly. Al Ahly gave it a good go and they tried to move the ball forward when they got the chance, but in the end, Madrid's quality was just too much. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were deadly when they got their chances. The two sides were fairly even during the first half but the second goal from Madrid early in the second half really took the wind out of the Egyptian club's sails. It was a valiant effort, but a comeback was always unlikely.

90' + 8' FULL TIME: AL AHLY 1-4 REAL MADRID

Sergio Arribas

Vinícius Júnior

90' + 8' Vinicius Junior has been brilliant today. He's replaced by Arribas to a huge ovation.

Goal

90' + 7' GOAL! The substitute Arribas had only just come on the pitch but he cooly controlled the ball in the box to create some space before sliding the ball into the corner. If it was ever in doubt, it's game over now at 4-1.

Odriozola

L. Modrić

90' + 5' Veteran midfielder Modric is replaced by Odriozola.

M. Díaz

Rodrygo

90' + 5' Rodrygo is replaced by Mariano. It was a terrific performance by him and he deserved his goal at the end.

Dani Ceballos

Assist

90' + 2' It was a cheeky back heel from Ceballos who gets the assist.

Goal

90' + 1' It's 3-1 and game over! Superb skill in the box from Ceballos, who backheels the ball to Rodrygo. The Brazil forward dummies the ball to fool the goalkeeper before chipping it into the back of the net. That was an electric team goal from Madrid.

90' There will be eight minutes of injury time!

Kahraba

Mohamed Magdi Kafsha

88' It's Kahraba on for Afsha.

Mohamed El Shenawy

Penalty Save

87' Al Ahly are still in the game with that save. Can they get an equaliser now?

L. Modrić

Penalty Miss

87' It's saved! It was a poor penalty from Modric who hits a weak shot straight at a diving El-Shenawy.

Mohamed Abdelmonem

Yellow Card

85' Ahmed also receives a yellow for his involvement.

A. Tchouaméni

Yellow Card

85' Tchouameni is booked after some shoving between the two teams in the box during the VAR call.

84' IT'S BEEN GIVEN! It looked like a soft penalty but Madrid have a great chance to make it 3-1 now!

84' VAR is taking a look at a possible Real Madrid penalty for a foul on Vinicius Junior!

82' Rodrygo takes the ball on the edge of the box and tries to find Camavinga on the overlap but they were on different wavelengths completely and it's comfortably defended.

81' No other club in the competition's history have played more games (20) than Al Ahly.

79' WELL SAVED! The corner falls to Taher but his header goes straight towards Lunin who uses both of his hands to parry it away.

78' Tao has looked lively since coming on and wins a corner for Al Ahly.

Dani Ceballos

T. Kroos

77' Kroos is replaced by the Spaniard Ceballos. It looks like a defensive substitution from Ancelotti.

Taher Mohamed

Hussein El Shahat

75' El Shahat has really put a shift in today! But he's been taken off for the Egyptian international striker Taher.

73' Madrid win a free kick after Nacho is tripped in his own box. It's stopped a dangerous Al Ahly attacking move.

71' Modric is shoved to the ground by the substitute Fathi. Al Ahly are trying to use their physicality now to get the upper hand.

70' The El Ahly fans are making a tremendous noise now in the stadium. But Real Madrid are used to pressure situations and they're looking to calm things down with some comfortable possession in the middle of the pitch.

68' WHAT A CHANCE! El Shahat pulls it back for Afsha in the box but it's a difficult shot to control and he skies it over the bar.

Goal

65' GOAL! That was the perfect penalty from Maaloul as he buries it in the left corner with Lunin guessing the wrong way. Real Madrid were cruising until the penalty but Al Ahly are in with a chance now. It's 2-1!

63' PENALTY! El Shahat is caught by Camavinga and Al Ahly have a chance to get back into this game!

P. Tau

Mohamed Sherif

61' Sherif has been a useful target man today for Al Ahly but he's been replaced by Tao.

Hamdi Fathi

A. Dieng

61' Egyptian international Fathi comes on for Dieng.

58' VAR decides it's not a penalty so a corner is given. It looked a close call!

57' PENALTY SHOUT! Huge appeals from Madrid after Vinicius Junior goes down in the tackle after using his pace to surge into the box.

55' Tchouameni drills a shot from distance and El-Shenawy almost spills it! Fortunately for Al Ahly, there are no Madrid forwards waiting to pounce.

54' Camavinga goes down after a crunching tackle from Metwaly. The Frenchman went down dramatically but there is no yellow card.

52' Sherif attempts to run onto the ball in the box but it just edges away from him and into the arms of Lunin.

51' Al Ahly are working the ball down the right side yet again and a looping cross falls to Sherif in the box but his header goes over the bar. It was a half chance but he was put under good pressure by the defenders.

49' Vinicius Junior has a shot but it is from distance and drifts safely over the bar for Al Ahly.

Goal

47' GOAL! Valverde puts Real Madrid 2-0 up early in this second half! Modric stroked a pass to Rodrygo who saw his shot well saved. However, the ball fell to Valverde who shows great composure to settle the ball and bury it into the back of the net!

46' Al Ahly get the second half underway!

1' The ball is whipped across for Tau who is darting into the box but it's just too far for him and the ball goes out.

Don't count the Egyptian side out of this intriguing encounter yet. They're only a goal behind and have looked to attack Real Madrid at every opportunity. If they score a second, however, then it would be a mountain to climb.

That was a really entertaining half! Both sides had good chances but Real Madrid, as you might expect, were the most clinical. Al Ahly had four attempts on goal and most of their good work came through El Shahat on the right wing. But Vinicius Junior took his chance like the world-class player he is. It was a brilliant chip over the keeper just a few minutes before half-time.

45' + 1' HALF TIME: AL AHLY 0-1 REAL MADRID

45' There will be one minute of injury time.

Goal

43' GOAL! Vinicius Junior puts Madrid 1-0 ahead with a beautiful dink over the goalkeeper! Metwaly dealt with a clearance poorly which let the Brazilian in. It was a lovely bit of skill but the manager will be frustrated with the defending there.

41' El Shahat has looked dangerous during all of this half and it's clear to see why his teammates keep trying to play the ball to him. This time the attack is thwarted by Camavinga. These two are having a bit of a duel on the right hand side.

39' Kroos lays the ball off to Valverde on the edge of the box but his shot is blocked.

38' El Shahat spots Lunin off his line but he's a long way from goal and his ambitious effort goes over the bar.

36' The ball is played over the top to Valverde but his volley is comfortably saved by the keeper.

34' This game is finely poised. Both sides have had chances to take the lead. It feels very open!

33' The players are stopping for a breather now after a foul by Camavinga.

31' Wow! El Shahat with some tricks of his own as he gets past Camavinga down the right side of the box. He drills the shot at the goal and it's parried away by Lunin for a corner. This one is end-to-end!

30' Brilliant skill from Rodrygo! He twinkles past the Al Ahly defenders but his shot goes past the wrong side of the post. Madrid are turning the screw now.

28' JUST WIDE! That's the best chance of the half for Madrid. Rodrygo slips in Vinícius Júnior who was through on goal but the angle looked a tight one and he drags the shot wide.

26' OVER THE BAR! After a short corner routine, the ball falls to Abdelmonem but his header rises over the bar. That's a let-off for Madrid.

25' Corner for Al Ahly! It's their first of the match.

23' Kroos whips a corner in for Madrid but the referee sees a foul in the box. El-Shenawy came surging out to punch the ball away so he could have got a shove there.

21' Tchouameni hits a dangerous looping ball into the box and it falls to Vinícius Júnior but he loses the ball and it's cleared.

19' CHANCE! Space opens up beautifully for Al Alhy's forward Sherif but he snatches at the shot and it goes over the bar. They will have to take chances like that if they are to stand a chance of beating Madrid.

18' Al Ahly are attacking Real Madrid's penalty box for the first time in this half. The players look like they're trying to build a bit of confidence by keeping hold of the ball but Valverde intercepts and starts a counter attack.

17' The first decent chance from Madrid! Rodrygo had a sight of goal but his shot is well blocked and goes out for a corner.

15' Kroos looped the ball into the box but it's far too heavy and goes straight into the arms of El-Shenawy.

14' Some lovely skill from Rodrygo but he's tripped by Hany to give away a free-kick in a dangerous position.

12' Vinicius Junior showing his quality there as he dances past two defenders but is stopped by a third on the edge of the box before the ball is cleared.

11' Real Madrid are willing to be patient here. They are spraying the ball from player to player waiting for their moment.

9' Real Madrid are the most successful club ever in the competition, lifting the trophy four times. Their most recent victory came in 2018.

7' As you might expect, Real Madrid have seen nearly all of the ball so far. Al Ahly are sitting very deep so it will be interesting to see if they can be broken down by Madrid's superstars.

6' Vinicius Junior takes the ball in the box and attempts a trademark cheeky backheel but it goes straight into the Al Ahly defender rather than Rodrygo. Al Ahly look a tough defensive unit so far.

4' El Shahat with some tricky play down the right side but his pass is safely cleared by Alaba.

2' Al Ahly with the first bit of pressure and there are a lot of boos and whistles. The fans in Morocco are backing Real Madrid for this one.

1' It's Real Madrid who kick things off.

The teams are out and we're almost underway!

Real Madrid are missing several key players through injury including Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.

Al Ahly are competing in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup for the third successive year but they have a huge obstacle to overcome in four-time winners Real Madrid!

SUBS: Luis López, Lucas Canizares, Sergio Arribas, Daniel Carvajal, Mario Martín, Marco Asensio, Mariano, Jesús Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Alvaro Odriozola.

REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Andriy Lunin; Eduardo Camavinga, David Alaba, Nacho, Antonio Rüdiger; Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni; Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Federico Valverde.

SUBS: Aly Lotfi, Ramy Rabia, Mohamed Fakhri, Marwan Attia, Yasser Ibrahim, Percy Tau, Kahraba, Taher Mohamed, Mohamed Ashraf, Khaled Abdelfattah, Hamza Alaa, Hamdi Fathi.

AL AHLY (4-5-1): Mohamed El-Shenawy; Ali Maaloul, Mohamed Hany, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mahmoud Metwaly; Hussein El Shahat, Ahmed Mohamed, Amr El Soleya, Afsha, Aliou Dieng; Mohamed Sherif.

Al Ahly booked their place in the semi-final after beating Seattle Sounders on Saturday thanks to a late winner from substitute Mohamed Magdy. The Egyptian club could present a tough test for Carlo Ancelotti’s men as they are top of the Egyptian Premier League and unbeaten in 23 matches. The winner will play Al Hilal in the final on Saturday.

European giants Real Madrid go into the game as heavy favourites but they’ve been shaky in La Liga recently and lost 1-0 to Real Mallorca at the weekend. As winners of last season’s Champions League, the tournament begins for them today.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Club World Cup semi-final between Al Ahly and Real Madrid at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Morocco.

Al Ahly v Real Madrid Live Commentary, 09/02/23

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