Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said on Saturday that he was looking forward to seeing how his new team measures up to European champions Paris Saint-Germain after the sides set up a semifinal showdown at the Club World Cup.
Real beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in their last-eight tie at the MetLife Stadium, a few hours after PSG defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta.
The Spanish giants and the French side will now clash at the MetLife Stadium in the semifinals on Wednesday, and whoever emerges victorious will be seen as favourites to go on and win the competition.
"Today we played against a team who went far in the Champions League and now we face the winners, so this is going to be another little step up for us in this new project we are beginning," said Alonso, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as Real coach just ahead of the tournament.
PSG, coached by Luis Enrique, succeeded Madrid as European champions after hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final in Munich in late May.
"They have been playing at a really high level since the last 16 of the Champions League and it will be a really big challenge for us."
Real appeared to be cruising to a comfortable victory against Dortmund after goals in the first 20 minutes by young striker Gonzalo Garcia and left-back Fran Garcia.
But Maximilian Beier pulled one back for Dortmund in stoppage time, sparking a remarkable late flurry which saw Kylian Mbappe net an overhead kick and then Serhou Guirassy score a penalty for the Germans after Dean Huijsen was sent off.
"We can do better, but overall, it was a very serious performance and now we need to take the positives from this," said Alonso, who will have to do without centre-back Huijsen against PSG due to suspension.
"The game has just ended so I am not yet thinking about the semis. I will have a couple of hours of peace but obviously it is not good news to have lost Huijsen."
MBAPPE PUSHING TO START
Alonso may now have a selection headache of another sort in attack, with Mbappe – used as a substitute on Saturday – pushing for a first start of the tournament against his old club after overcoming illness.
"He is still not perfect, not at 100 per cent, but he is improving every day," Alonso said of the France superstar after he scored his 44th goal for the club since signing from PSG a year ago.
Gonzalo Garcia, meanwhile, has had a fine Club World Cup, with the 21-year-old striker notching four goals in five appearances off the back of a prolific campaign with the Madrid second team, Castilla.
"Yesterday (Friday) I said that Gonzalo was making the most of his opportunity and he did it again today," Alonso said.
"He has the characteristics of a goal-scorer, he had a great season with Castilla, scoring 25 goals, and he is in the right place here."
Meanwhile Dortmund coach Niko Kovac insisted he was satisfied with his team's performance at the tournament despite their defeat, as they now get to take a holiday before preparing for the start of the next German Bundesliga season.
"I want to congratulate Real Madrid for going through. It is a well-deserved victory. We were too slow, the conditions were not perfect, and we were not good enough even if in the second half we were a lot better," he said.
"Overall my team had a good tournament. We showed our qualities and it is not a failure if you go home after a defeat against Real Madrid," he added.