Real Madrid are the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup champions, as they beat Al Ain 4-1 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The victory means Real have been crowned the best club team on the planet in each of the last three years, and have won this competition in four of the last five years.
Santiago Solari’s men have become the first team in competition history to win the tournament four times and celebrated wildly at the final whistle at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
🙌🏆🎉 WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!#RMCWC | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/qHSDacEAli
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) December 22, 2018
Real were 1-0 up at half time through Luka Modric’s stunner, then added goals in the second half from Marco Llorente, Sergio Ramos and an own goal capped off the win.
UAE side Al Ain, who had pulled off a great run to reach the final, scored via Tsukasa Shiotani but Real were always playing in second gear.
Modric put Real ahead early on as his curling effort from the edge of the box flew into the top corner.
The Croatian midfielder certainly knows how to pop up in the big moments when his team needs him most.
#MundialDeClubesTD @lukamodric10 demuestra su calidad y pone al frente al @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/vVb991zWwh
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 22, 2018
After that opener Real took control of the game and almost scored a second. Dani Carvajal teed up Lucas Vazquez but his shot flew just wide of the far post.
In the second half Real pulled away as Llorente smashed home a wonderful volley from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 after 60 minutes.
#MundialDeClubesTD ¡Balazo! Un potente disparo de @marcosllorente para aumentar la ventaja del @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/xBq8HDOzvV
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 22, 2018
And with just over 10 minutes to go the trophy was sealed with Ramos flicking home a wonderful header from Modric’s corner to make it 3-0.
His celebration said it all.
#MundialDeClubesTD ¡Llegó el tercero! @SergioRamos pone sentencia en el partido para @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/utoEQCL0Ez
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 22, 2018
Shiotani grabbed a consolation for Al Ain late on as his superb looping header gave the home fans something to cheer, but Real eased to victory as they added a fourth.
#MundialDeClubesTD ¡El del honor! Tsukasa Shiotani acorta distancias para @alainfcae pic.twitter.com/W4PgBVA9s4
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 22, 2018
Teenager Vinicius Junior ran in on goal and his shot was deflected into his own net by Yahia Nader to make it 4-1.
Real were crowned the best club team on the planet for the third-straight season as they continue to shatter records.
#MundialDeClubesTD ¡Se sumó a la fiesta! @vini11Oficial consigue sumar un gol más para el cuadro blanco. pic.twitter.com/8isfQRrBLf
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 22, 2018
