Abu Dhabi: Gareth Bale scored with his first touch after coming off the bench to strike Real Madrid's winner as they survived a scare to beat local side Al Jazira 2-1 on Wednesday and reach the Club World Cup final. Al Jazira looked to have doubled their lead one minute into the second half but the strike from Mbark Boussoufa was correctly ruled out for offside and Cristiano Ronaldo eased Real's nerves by smashing in the equaliser in the 52nd minute. Zinedine Zidane's side are bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the Club World Cup while victory over Gremio would also equal Barcelona's record three triumphs in the competition. Real fielded a full-strength side with the exception of the injured Sergio Ramos and made an explosive start, having five attempts on goal in the first 12 minutes. The game became shrouded in confusion over Real's second disallowed goal.

Source: The Telegraph December 13, 2017 21:00 UTC