Real Madrid 2-0 Club America: Controversy and confusion reigns

Real Madrid surged into the Club World Cup final with two controversial goals.

Karim Benzema's opener was scored five seconds after the one minute added on at the end of the first half was over, while Cristiano Ronaldo's second was ruled out and then allowed again as the referee took advice from the video refereeing system.

Madrid started the game slowly but began to dominate, with Ronaldo dragging a shot wide from 35 yards as his side struggled to convert possession into clear cut chances. 

The recent Ballon d’Or winner broke through in the 15th minute but was correctly ruled offside, with his strike cracking back off the post in any case.

He struck the woodwork again 10 minutes later, with Lucas Vazquez crossing for the forward, whose header beat the goalkeeper and bounced off the post. 

The breakthrough eventually came when Karim Benzema fired home just before the interval, with Toni Kroos feeding him through, with the Frenchman flicking the ball into the top right corner with the outside of his boot.

Ronaldo had a good chance to double the lead in the second half but fired straight at Club America’s goalkeeper.

He then wasted an even better one, skewing a header away from goal when all he had to do was not it into the empty net. 

Eventually Ronaldo scored at the death, his 500th goal at club level - also a goal that went in after stoppage time should have been over - setting up a final on Sunday which sees his team take on Kashima Antlers.