Al Ahly 1–4 Real Madrid

Real Madrid reached the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup by steamrolling past Al-Ahly by a mammoth scoreline of 4-1 on Wednesday night.

The Egyptian side fought valiantly to make it pull a goal back after Real Madrid went two up thanks to goals from Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde. Luka Modric’s missed penalty did not help the nerves.

But two injury-time goals from Rodrygo Goes and Castilla prodigy Sergio Arribas sealed the deal for Los Blancos.

Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media after his team’s win and discussed several topics including the performance, and the upcoming final against Al Hilal, and provided injury updates. Here are the snippets from his interaction.

On the semifinal performance: "We controlled the match well for an hour, but then we thought it was done and it opened up. We then finished well. The team’s improving and we did well today because it was a match where we had everything to lose and nothing to win."

On reaching the final: "We controlled the game pretty well. It’s a great feeling to reach the final."

On the nervy final 30 minutes: "When it was 2-0 it looked like we‘d won the game and that’s not the way football is. We slowed down and thought we’d won. We have to play well and remain focused until the final whistle. It was like that for 10 or 15 minutes until Modric’s penalty."

On playing the final against Al-Hilal: "We’re up against a team that won the semi-final by playing well and deserved to be in the final. We have to respect this team. They’ve got good players and play well collectively. They’ll be excited to play in the final and so will we."

On his plan for the final: "We have to prepare well for the match, provide clear instructions to the players and devise a good game plan. We have players who can handle this type of pressure extremely well.”

On Flamengo’s elimination: “Football’s changing because there’re a lot of teams all over the world that can compete, fight and win too. I was surprised that Flamengo were eliminated, but they’re in pre-season and their fitness level isn’t at its peak and the rest of the teams, who are in the middle of the season, are at their peak."

On the support in the stands: "The atmosphere was great for Real Madrid and I want to thank the fans. It was a nice and fair game against a side that played well and gave it everything."

On the status of injured players: "They’re not fully recovered. Karim is quite well but Militão is a bit more doubtful. They will train in the run-up to the game and then we will make decisions. Carvajal, who had a fever today, is back, and Asensio, who has a slight strain from the Mallorca game."

On Vinicius’ performance: "He likes to play football wherever he is. His game was very complete. He scored a fantastic goal and was always dangerous. He is the same Vini Jr. that you always see.”

On Federico Valverde: “I’m happy because he played a good game. He has produced the goods, shown his quality, and scored. Little by little he’s coming back."

On Luka Modric’s missed penalty: "Sometimes you miss them. Luka has always done very well. We have to choose the best one to take it and I’m pretty sure who the best penalty takers are: Karim, Modric and Asensio. It’s very complicated to practice penalties because the environmental factor can’t be replicated in a training session."

On the youth system: "It’s very important for us. The youth system is a very important element and nobody here overlooks it. In the first team, there are players of a very high level, who have won the Champions League, and it is not so easy to give minutes to youth team players."

"That said, there are very good players in the youth team and the coaches are doing a good job with them. They will soon be with the first team."