Al Jazira 1-2 Real Madrid - 5 talking points
Scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo 53' Gareth Bale 81'
The UAE Champions Al Jazira pulled off a surprise by beating both Auckland City and Urawa Red Diamonds to make it through to the Semi-finals, while the European Champions Real Madrid received a bye into the Semi-finals, in search of their third Club World Cup title.
The European Champions were made to earn their win in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday by the spirited UAE Champions Al Jazira. The host took the lead in the first half but Ronaldo and Bale struck in the second half to send Real into the Saturday finals against Gremio.
Zidane fielded a strong team with Ronaldo, Modric, Isco, Marcelo and Benzema in the starting eleven while Al Jazira made a solitary change on the left wing.
On that note, Let's see the key talking points from the Semi-finals.
#5 Real Madrid missed a lot of scoring opportunities
Real Madrid could have killed the game in the first 15 minutes if they had taken their chances. They were brilliant in the build-up play and moved the ball beautifully but what lacked was the ruthlessness in front of goal.
They were dreadful in the first half as Benzema, Ronaldo, and Modric missed some clear-cut chances. They had 36 attempts on goal, out of which only 2 found the back of the net thanks to some brilliant defending and acrobatic goalkeeping but Real's finishing let them down once again. With El Clasico just a few days away, Zidane will be concerned with his side's form.
Real Madrid offensive stats:
Shots on target - 14
Shots off target - 14
Big chances missed - 6
Shot accuracy - 50%