The Spanish giants were in dominant form during the first half and looked to have secured progression before the break. Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a close-range finish, continuing his fine form in the tournament with a fourth goal. The 19-year-old academy product has been in superb form, keeping Kylian Mbappe out of the starting XI and delivering consistently for manager Xabi Alonso.
Garcia doubled Madrid’s lead less than 10 minutes later, latching onto Trent Alexander-Arnold’s drilled cut-back to fire home a second. Dortmund responded either side of half-time but failed to seriously test Thibaut Courtois, while Aurelien Tchouameni came close to extending Madrid’s lead when his thunderous strike rattled the crossbar.
Mbappe, who had been benched in favour of the in-form Garcia, was introduced in the final 23 minutes and made an instant impact in a frantic finale. Max Beier pulled one back for Dortmund in stoppage time, setting up a tense finish, but Mbappe restored Madrid’s two-goal cushion with an acrobatic strike moments later. Dortmund were awarded a late penalty, converted by Serhou Guirassy, but it was too late to stop Los Blancos from advancing.
The result sees Real Madrid set up a semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain, with selection questions looming over whether Mbappe or Garcia will lead the line. Garcia, who scored the winner against Juventus and was on target again against Salzburg, may retain his starting place ahead of the French star.
Madrid remain unbeaten in the tournament, with Alonso’s decision to stick with an unchanged line-up continuing to yield results as his side chase Club World Cup glory.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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