Gareth Bale scores with first touch to send Real into World Club Final
World of Sport Reporter: @worldofsport
Real Madrid came from behind to beat Al Jazira in the Fifa Club World Cup Semi-final in UAE earlier.
Al Jazira took a first-half lead through Brazilian forward Romarinho. The UAE side almost scored a second goal through Mbark Boussoufa, but it was ruled out for offside by the virtual assistant referee.
Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for Madrid in the second half and Gareth Bale came off the bench to score the winning goal with his first touch. It was only his second appearance since suffering a calf injury in September.
The Club World Cup features Fifa's six reigning confederation champions plus the league winners, Al Jazira, of the host country, United Arab Emirates. And in the final Real will meet Brazilian side Gremio on Saturday.
Bale was delighted to be back playing and scoring "It is great to get a goal,” he said. “When you come on you like to make an impact like that. The most important thing is to get the win and get into the final. I have still got some way to go get back to full fitness. It takes time but I have to be patient and listen to my body.
Before falling behind Madrid had two first-half goals ruled out for infringements.
Karim Benzema's header was disallowed for a foul by Ronaldo in the build-up and Casemiro was denied after the video assistant referee gave offside against Benzema.
Benzema also hit the post twice as a rampant Real were determined to reach the final on Saturday. They won the competition in 2014 and 2016 and if they win on Saturday they would equal Barcelona with 3 tournament wins.
Photo/Link Sources:
www.skysports.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.albawabacdn-albawabamiddleea.netdna-ssl.com
For the Very Best in Sports Related Media, Follow Us @worldofsport
What do you buy the golfer who has everything? A short game!
With Gareth Bale first touch securing Real Madrid a place in the final, this shows how committed the player is and how much hard work he's been doing to get back from injury. I think the player is exceptional and also congratulations to Real Madrid on getting to the finals
Bale is amazing
he is a great player, you should expect everything from those players @worldofsport