MIAMI, Florida – A strong first half helped Monterrey finish their 2021 FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 3-1 victory over Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates in the Fifth Place Match on Wednesday night at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
It was a very bright start for Rayados, with a Zayed Sultan own goal in the 4’ handing the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League winners a 1-0 lead.
Monterrey had all the momentum and quickly doubled the advantage to 2-0 in the 11’ thanks to SCCL 2021 Best Player winner Rogelio Funes Mori, who received a cross from the right, made a move to elude the goalkeeper and calmly finished for the goal.
Monterrey’s impeccable first half-hour was then capped by Cesar Montes extending the lead to 3-0 in the 25’. A corner kick swung in was met by the charging Montes, who redirected the header into net.
The Liga MX side continued to hunt for goals, but were unable to find a way through for the remainder of the match. The clean sheet effort was then spoiled by Bruno’s consolation goal for Al Jazira in the 90+1’.
In the end though, a commanding performance from Monterrey earned Rayados a Fifth-Place finish in their fifth FCWC appearance.
