ATLANTA (news agencies) — Serhou Guirassy scored a pair of first-half goals, both assisted by Karim Adeyemi, and Borussia Dortmund held off Monterrey 2-1 Tuesday night in the final round of 16 game at the Club World Cup.
Guirassy drove a shot just inside the left post in the 14th minute, then sent another past keeper Esteban Andrada in the 24th when left unmarked from 15 yards at the top of the penalty area.
Both times, it was Adeyemi delivering the pass that set up Guirassy, a native of France who plays for Guinea’s national team. The 29-year-old striker has three goals in four tournament games and 37 across all competitions in his first season with Dortmund.
Dortmund will face Real Madrid on Saturday at East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Spanish power advanced with a 1-0 victory over Italy’s Juventus in an afternoon match.
Jobe Bellingham received a yellow card in the 28th minute and will miss the match against Real – and his brother, former Dortmund star Jude Bellingham — because of yellow card accumulation.
Rayados, cheered by a large contingent of flag-waving supporters in Atlanta, bounced back from the sluggish start to make a game of it.
Less than three minutes into second half, a cross to the far post deflected off the head of a Dortmund defender before Érick Aguirre headed it back across the net to Germán Berterame, who headed it in to cut the deficit to a single goal.
Using their speed to attack Dortmund vertically, Monterrey dominated the second half and had several chances to level the score. But the German team held on, despite the Mexican squad holding a 59% edge in possession and a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
The late game drew a crowd of 31,442 at cavernous Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the upper deck wasn’t needed. But the sweltering U.S. heat wasn’t an issue with the roof closed in Atlanta.
American Gio Reyna did not play for the third time in four games at the Club World Cup, another sign that his tenure with Dortmund could be winding down.
Dortmund started strongly, thanks to a nifty flick from Adeyemi at the top of the area that set up Guirassy’s opening goal.
Dortmund’s victory means five of the eight clubs in the quarterfinals are from Europe. Monterrey was the last club left from North America.
“I think I could have scored three goals at least. But I’m happy I helped the team. The most important thing was to win the game.” — Guirassy.
“We played a fantastic game from the first minute to the last one. … All the players who have been involved in the Premier League and the Spanish competition know the quality of the Mexican teams. We don’t need to sell it.” — Monterrey captain Sergio Ramos through an interpreter.
___
