Kylian Mbappé marked his return to action with a spectacular bicycle kick as Real Madrid edged Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a dramatic Club World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday, booking a semifinal clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French forward, who missed the group stage after suffering from gastroenteritis, struck in stoppage time with an acrobatic finish at the back post from an Arda Güler cross, restoring Madrid’s two-goal cushion in a game that erupted into chaos late on.
Real had taken early control, scoring twice inside the opening 20 minutes. Gonzalo García, the tournament’s joint-top scorer, opened the scoring by turning in Güler’s delivery, before Fran García doubled the lead after converting a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Dortmund appeared on the brink of elimination until Maximilian Beier reignited the contest in the 92nd minute, drilling a low shot from the edge of the penalty area to make it 2-1.
Mbappé responded almost immediately, making it 3-1 two minutes later with his stunning overhead kick. After scoring, he appeared to pay tribute to the late Diogo Jota by holding up the numbers two and zero, referencing the Liverpool forward’s No. 20 shirt. Jota died in a car crash on Thursday.
The drama was far from over. Straight from the restart, Carney Chukwuemeka released Serhou Guirassy, who was brought down in the box by Dean Huijsen. The defender was sent off, and Guirassy calmly converted the penalty to reduce the deficit once again.
Dortmund came agonizingly close to forcing extra time with the final kick of the match, but Marcel Sabitzer’s 99th-minute effort was superbly saved by Thibaut Courtois, drawing loud cheers from many of the 76,611 spectators at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s football,” said Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, reflecting on the frenetic ending. “Up until the 80th minute, we controlled the game quite well. Too many things happened in a short period, but we’re in the semifinals and we’re happy.”
Madrid will now face European champions Paris Saint-Germain, who defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 earlier on Saturday despite finishing the match with nine men.
Désiré Doué broke the deadlock in the 78th minute, beating Manuel Neuer at his near post with a left-footed strike. PSG were later reduced to 10 men when Willian Pacho was sent off for a high challenge, and to nine when Lucas Hernández received a red card for elbowing Raphaël Guerreiro.
Even so, the French side sealed victory deep into stoppage time when Achraf Hakimi surged through the Bayern defense and squared for Ousmane Dembélé, who swept home in the 96th minute.
The match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala. Just before halftime, Musiala collided with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and fell clutching his left ankle, which appeared badly twisted.
“I’ve rarely been so angry at halftime,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said afterward. “Not because of the result, but because it happened to someone who loves the game so much and is so important to us.”
Despite strong attendances for Saturday’s quarterfinals, interest appeared weaker for the other semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense.
According to the Associated Press, ticket prices for that match dropped to as low as $13.40 after reaching nearly $474 earlier in the week, highlighting the uneven demand surrounding FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup.
