Real Madrid beat Al Hilal to lift record 5th Club World Cup

• Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for the 5th time
• This marks Real Madrid's 100th title in club football
• Madrid defeated Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal 5-3 in the final

Defending champions Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for a record fifth time after defeating Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal 5-3 in the final on Saturday, February 11, with the help of Uruguay's Federico Valverde and Brazil's Vinicius Jr. and a goal by the French. World Cup winner Karim Benzema.

It was a largely one-sided game at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium, with Real seemingly never going to take control despite allowing the opposition to score three times, with Luciano Vietto also netting twice. The Moroccan fans, who created a raucous atmosphere, enjoyed a flurry of goals that started early on, with the European champions opening the scoring in the 13th minute.

Valverde extended Real's lead five minutes later from a rebound, but Al Hilal scored from Moussa Marega on the counter-attack. Vinicius took center stage after the break, the Brazilian showing off his skills against a beleaguered Al Hilal defence, with the crowd on their feet every time the jet-heeled Brazilian ran down the left channel. He put Benzema in Real's third in the 54th minute with a brilliant cross with the outside of his boot before Valverde extended their lead from close range.

Vietto reduced the deficit for Al Hilal from another counter five minutes later, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Vinicius added another for Real in the 69th with a clean sheet. Vietto scored his second goal of the night 10 minutes later to cap off a high-scoring encounter that delighted the Moroccan fans. Real Madrid now have the most domestic titles in Spanish football, the most Champions League titles in Europe and extended their lead in the Club World Cup trophy as well.