Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund this Saturday (3-2) and are already in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, as is PSG, who will be the next rival of Los Blancos, who struggled to defeat Bayern Munich (2-0). The other match will be between Fluminense, who beat Al-Hilal (2-1), and Chelsea, who ‘defeated’ Palmeiras (1-2). Both qualifiers have been analyzed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the results are, of course, surprising.
According to Opta, a British company that analyzes all types of sports, PSG is the main favorite to win this ‘new’ World Cup, with a 39.33% chance of taking the title, followed closely by Chelsea, which is left with a 33.27% chance. Far behind, Madrid appears, which has to settle for a meager 24.67% chance. Fluminense has to settle for a very small 2.72%.
In this way, Madrid will face the team that, in addition to being the current champion of Europe, everyone sees as the number one candidate for the title. A PSG that started on the right foot in the tournament, thrashing a conformist and stingy Atlético de Madrid, and that just before had achieved its best version, in the last qualifiers of the Champions League. Without going any further, Luis Enrique’s team achieved the widest result in the history of the competition in the final of the European Cup (5-0 against Inter), since it was reformatted in the nineties.
Thus, the challenge for Xabi Alonso’s team is enormous because they have everything against them, starting with the statistics. However, there are also precedents to hold on to. Like the last time they met, in the round of 16 of the Champions League, in the 2021/2022 season. After losing at the Parc des Princes (1-0), Los Blancos ended up coming back at the Santiago Bernabéu (3-1). The team then led by Carlo Ancelotti ended up taking this title.
Huijsen, important absence
It is clear that Madrid’s qualifier against PSG will be marked by the morbid fact that Kylian Mbappé will face his former team, although the Frenchman is not yet one hundred percent. In the match against Borussia Dotmund, the ‘9’ was again a substitute and played just over 20 minutes to continue picking up pace and test himself, scoring a great goal from a bicycle kick after an exquisite cross from Arda Güler. But, in addition to the sentimental side, there is the entirely sporting side and there Madrid suffered very bad news against the Germans.
Dean Huijsen was sent off for a penalty on Serhou Guirassy, which the referee Ramon Abatti punished very rigorously with a red card, and will be out of the match against Paris. Something that completely disrupts Alonso’s plans, who could renounce playing with three central defenders. Although the Gauls also have two absentees, two also sent off who saw the direct red card against Bayern: Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández.
