Real Madrid will face Paris Saint-Germain in a tantalising FIFA Club World Cup semi-final after coming out of 3-2 winners over Borussia Dortmund in a dramatic quarter-final match at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe scored a stunning volley during a frenzied second-half stoppage time to help seal victory for the Spanish giants, who were cruising in the early stages of the game but showed great composure to grab the win eventually.
Gonzalo Garcia opened scoring for Real after 10 minutes, meeting a cross from Arda Guler with a mid-air volley from close range to register his fourth goal at the competition.
From one Garcia to another, Real went 2-0 up 10 minutes later when left-back Fran Garcia arrived at the far post to score from a ball into the Dortmund area by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. wasted chances to extend Real’s lead before halftime, while Aurelien Tchouameni came closest in the second half, rattling the crossbar with a curling effort from the edge of the box.
The game looked set for a 2-0 ending until three goals came in the second-half stoppage time, starting with Max Beier pulling one back for Dortmund in the 93rd minute.
Mbappe restored Real’s two-goal lead with a scissor-kick just a minute later, only for Dortmund to pull another goal back through Serhou Guirassy’s penalty after Dean Huijsen fouled him in the box and received a straight red card for his troubles.
Dortmund then came within inches of forcing extra time when in the ninth minute of added time Thibaut Courtois produced a sensational save to deny Marcel Sabitzer’s powerful strike, as Xabi Alonso’s side ended up scrapping through to the last four.