��������

CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler scored first-half goals and short-handed Real Madrid bounced back from a disappointing performance in its Club World Cup opener to beat Pachuca 3-1 on Sunday in front of 70,248 spectators at Bank of America Stadium.
Seven minutes in, defender Raul Asencio received a red card, forcing Real Madrid to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power.
Bellingham got Madrid on the board in the 35th minute when he took a pass from Fran Garcia just inside the box and belted a perfectly placed left-footed shot past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into the right corner.
Eight minutes later, Güler made it 2-0 when he delivered a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner off an assist from Gonzalo García. Federico Valverde put the final touches on the win in the second half with a sliding right-footed shot off an assist from Brahim Díaz.
Goalkeeper Thabaut Courtois was on form with five saves in the first half. He turned away two point-blank shots in the early going and finished with 10 saves.
Elías Montiel ended Courtois’ bid for a shutout when he scored in the 80th minute for Pachuca, which fell to 0-2 in group play.
Kylian Mbappé has missed both Club World Cup starts after being hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. He did not travel to Charlotte, but the team remains hopeful that he’ll be ready to play on Thursday night against Salzburg.
Key moment
There were some uneasy minutes early in the match for Madrid when Asencio pulled down Pacheco’s Agustin Palavecino as he was entering the box following a breakaway, forcing Aurelein Tchouameni to move to center back. But Madrid stayed on the attack and Bellingham had the breakthrough goal.
Takeaways
Madrid looked very much out of sync on Wednesday, playing ��������’s Al Hilal to a 1-1 draw in Alonso’s first game when Federico Valverde’s stoppage-time penalty was saved. That changed on Sunday as the talented roster began to mesh, with precise passing leading to both first-half goals.
Noteworthy
The game was played on a temporary grass field. The stadium is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, who play on an artificial surface. ... With temperatures in the low 90s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius), players were given a water breaks midway through each half.
What they said
“We stayed together really well. It’s impressive how the team comes together to win the game. I’m really happy with the team today.” — Bellingham.
“I’m here to win. That is my way. I want to make a statement. We played well on some occasions but I can’t settle for just that.” — Pachuca coach Jaime Lozano.

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz clinched his second Queen’s Club title as the world No. 2 warmed up for Wimbledon with a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 win against Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final.

Alcaraz blasted 33 winners and 18 aces to subdue the gritty Czech world No. 30 in two hours and 10 minutes in west London.

Having won titles on clay at the French Open, Rome and Monte Carlo, as well as the hard courts of Rotterdam, Alcaraz has now collected five trophies in 2025.

The 22-year-old has not lost since the Barcelona final against Holger Rune on April 20 and is enjoying the longest winning streak of his career with 18 successive victories.

Top seeded Alcaraz is just the second Spanish man to win Queen’s twice after Feliciano Lopez, who lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2019.

For a player raised on the clay courts of Spain, Alcaraz has developed into a formidable force on grass.

The former world No. 1 signaled his emergence on the surface by winning Queen’s in 2023.

He clinched the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defended his All England Club crown last year.

Alcaraz, who has an 11-1 career record at Queen’s, will start his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title on June 30.

After his semifinal win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday, Alcaraz fired an ominous message to his Wimbledon rivals, warning that his “grass-court mode” had been activated.

And on the evidence of his relentless display against the obdurate Lehecka, he is in no mood to surrender his All England Club crown.

Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, Alcaraz’s march to the Queen’s showpiece made it five consecutive finals for the Spaniard.

In contrast, Lehecka was playing in his first grass-court final after a shock win against British star Jack Draper in the last four.

The 23-year-old was the first Czech in the Queen’s final since Ivan Lendl in 1990.

Lehecka had come from a set down to stun Alcaraz in the Qatar Open quarterfinals in February.

But there would be no repeat of that upset on the lawns of Barons Court.

In his second Queen’s final, Alcaraz had an early chance to break in the fifth game of the first set.

Lehecka thundered down an ace to get out of trouble of that occasion.

But the five-time Grand Slam champion matched Lehecka’s serve blow for blow, dropping just one point in his first four service games.

Alcaraz’s piercing ground-strokes increased the pressure and Lehecka finally cracked in the 11th game when a badly timed double-fault gifted the first break to the Spaniard.

Alcaraz served out the set in typically ruthless fashion, but Lehecka refused to surrender without a fight.

A tight second set stayed on serve all the way through to the tie-break and, for once, Alcaraz stumbled with a key double-fault, allowing Lehecka to level the match.

Alcaraz was unfazed, breaking for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set when Lehecka netted an off-balance forehand.

Alcaraz had the finish line in sight and he wrapped up his latest title triumph with a flurry of searing winners.