Club World Cup: Real Madrid cruise past Pachuca, Juve and City get the job done

Double whammy in Xabi Alonso's first win with Real Madrid: eliminated Mexico's Pachuca and revived in the Club World Cup, which already has two new teams qualified for the round of 16: Manchester City and Juventus.

In a key duel in Group H, the Merengues overcame the sending off of center-back Raul Asencio after seven minutes and the further absence of Kylian Mbappé to defeat the Mexicans 3-1 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Despite playing most of the game a man down after the defender was shown a red card for cutting out a goal-scoring option from Venezuelan Salomón Rondón, Madrid got back on track with goals from England's Jude Bellingham (35th), Turkey's Arda Güler (43rd) and Uruguay's Federico Valverde (70th).

Midfielder Elías Montiel (80) was discounted for Pachuca, the first Latin American team eliminated in the tournament.

Alleged racist act against Rudiger

The match was punctuated by an alleged racist act against Real Madrid's Antonio Rüdiger.

In the final minutes, there was a commotion on the field, and Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti formed an X with his arms: FIFA's protocol against racial discrimination was activated.

The Brazilian referee made the gesture after Rüdiger, 32, was seen upset following an exchange of words with fellow Argentine defender Gustavo Cabral, Pachuca's captain.

"We have been told something by Tony (Rüdiger) and we support Tony and we will see. I think the FIFA protocol was activated. If it has happened, well, measures are taken," Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said after the game.

"It is something unacceptable (...) In soccer there is no tolerance for that and, if it happens, then let them take the measures," he added. "This is what Antonio has told us and we believe him. It is being investigated now."

For his part, Pachuca's DT, Mexican Jaime Lozano, said he was unaware of what happened: "I just found out from you, you're telling me. We didn't talk about it in the locker room. I haven't spoken to Cabral about it. I can't give you an explanation about it because it's the first time I've heard this news."

Final' against Salzburg

After a pale debut against Al Hilal (1-1), Carlo Ancelotti's successor took the Spaniards to the top of the zone with four points, the same as Red Bull Salzburg, who drew 0-0 on Sunday with the Saudi team at the Audi Field stadium in Washington.

Real Madrid and the Austrian side will meet in a final in Philadelphia on Thursday in the final day of Group H (01H00 GMT Friday), with Al Hilal lurking, who with two points will be looking for a win at the same time in Nashville against eliminated Pachuca to secure their place in the next round of the tournament.

Juventus and City do their homework

At the same time as Madrid's resurgence, Igor Tudor's Juve beat Wydad Casablanca 4-1. Their star player, Kenan Yildiz, scored the first three goals at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, putting in an outstanding performance.

Likewise, in Group G, Manchester City mercilessly thrashed the United Arab Emirates' Al Ain 6-0. In the match, the Argentine Claudio Echeverri, who scored a great goal from a free kick in his first start with the English team, stood out.

On the last matchday, Manchester City and Juventus will decide who will take first place in the group. From this group will come the opponents in Group H, where Real Madrid, Salzburg and Al Hilal are still in contention for qualification.