3 Reasons why Real Madrid triumphed in the Club World Cup final

#2 High defensive line

Ramos & Co were not troubled by the Al Ain's forward line

Al-Ain are hard to beat when they keep possession of the ball and in order to counter this strategy, Real Madrid stretched their defensive line further up in a bid to press high and win back the ball.

This made them vulnerable to counter attacks and they did struggle in the initial minutes of the game. But, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane proved their class as the match progressed and were hardly beaten by the opposition forwards.

Ramos, in particular, made an unbelievable goal-line save in the 13th minute of the game after El Shahat beat Courtois and the goal post was left empty. Varane was assured while carrying the ball forward and during counterattacks, Llorente covered the entire defence with some crucial interceptions and clearances.

Surprisingly, both Carvajal and Marcelo tracked back regularly to help his teammates during transitions and capped off a solid defensive performance from the Los Blancos.