The big news: Ronaldo, Benzema on target for Real

Real Madrid beat Club America 2-0 to reach the Club World Cup final. In the process, they extended their unbeaten run to 36 games. Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead with a clipped finish after a Toni Kroos assist. Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the spot for Sunday’s final against Kashima Antlers by netting a second in injury time.

Referee Enrique Caceres briefly asked for a video assistant consultation before allowing the goal to stand. This year’s Club World Cup is the first tournament to use video assistant referees. A pitchside monitor is available to referees to review decisions. The Club World Cup features champion club sides from each of FIFA’s six continental confederations.

Other top stories:

  1. The 10th edition of the I-League will kick off on January 7 and will involve ten teams after Chennai City and Minerva Punjab were granted direct entry. The prospective fixtures for the first nine of the total 18 rounds were released on Thursday. The defending champions Bengaluru FC will kick their campaign off against Shillong Lajong at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on January 7 while the other match of the day will see Aizawl FC square off against Kolkata giants East Bengal at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl, Mizoram. 
  2. Reigning I-League champions Bengaluru FC signed midfielder Lenny Rodrigues on a season-long loan deal on Thursday, completing their second loan capture for the upcoming domestic season, following Harmanjot Khabra’s arrival.
  3. New Birmingham City boss Gianfranco Zola replaced Gary Rowett as manager. Zola played against Birmingham twice during his illustrious career with Chelsea. Blues fans were shocked by the Chinese-owned club’s decision to replace the immensely popular Rowett with the club eighth in the Championship table.
  4. The organisation representing Europe’s leading clubs rejected the bid for expanding the World Cup. Earlier this month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino proposed a 48-team tournament consisting of 16 groups of three countries each. The European Club Association say the number of games played in a year is already at an “unacceptable level”.
  5. Coventry City fans staged a pitch invasion as Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp dispatched the Sky Blues to a sixth straight defeat in League One. The Sky Blues, who are on their worst run for 43 years, looked to have earned a draw when Dan Agyei equalised Sharp’s first-half opener. However, Sharp’s brace gave United the edge at the end of the game. 
  6. Premier League sides Watford and West Bromwich have each been given a £45,000 fine by the Football Association for failing to control their players. The charge related to an incident which led to Watford’s Roberto Pereyra being sent off during a 3-1 Premier League defeat at The Hawthorns on December 3.
  7. I-League football side, DSK Shivajians FC on Thursday completed the signings of five footballers from Indian Super League (ISL) outfit NorthEast United FC. Subrata Paul, Halicharan Narzary, Nirmal Chettri, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Jerry Mawihmingthanga all returned to the club from the Guwahati-based ISL franchise, according to a club release. I-league team Chennai City FC signed Tamil Nadu’s Dharamraj Ravanan as their captain.