The Club World Cup is not generally looked upon as an upper echelon competition because is not particularly competitive and overly predictable.

For some perspective, six of the last seven winners of the tournament have been European clubs. Since the tournament's inception, only South American sides and Europeans have won the tournament. And of those South American champs, all of them have been Brazilian squads.

So when Real Madrid headed to play its first game on Tuesday against Cruz Azul, few expected anything but a blowout in favor of the Spanish squad. And that is what they got. But it was far from a cakewalk.

Here are some big takeaways from the game:

Iker the Saint

Remember the Champions League fumble in the final? Remember that horrid World Cup? Remember calls for his head when setpiece goals were a common phenomenon?

Where are all those questions about Real Madrid's captain and keeper?

While he remains prone to the occasional mistake (he is human, after all), no one can honestly claim that this man is reclaiming his confidence. He was terrific in this match and made a crucial penalty save with the score at 2-0 and Madrid losing momentum. The save not only made him the first goalie to stop a penalty for club and country in the World Cup, but also proved to be his second straight penalty save.

And that was not all. Moments after making the huge save, Asier Illarramendi made a horrid pass back that was picked off by a Cruz Azul player. Casillas ran out to cut off the angle and managed to win the battle of wills. This might have been his finest game of the season so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo the Playmaker

One could sense that every time he got the ball, CR7 was looking to score a goal. He obviously hoping to put his mark on this competition, as it might be his only chance to do so for the rest of his career. But despite his own desires, he continued to exhibit an evolution to his game, this time as a playmaker. The third and fourth Madrid goals were the result of Ronaldo making a terrific key pass and earning an assist. With his two helpers, he is now one assist behind Koke (who has 13) for the most assists of any player in the Spanish League in all competitions. For those wondering, Messi is stuck on nine assists in all competitions this season.

Cruz Azul Tactics

The Mexican squad lost because it allowed Los Blancos too much space with the ball. The pressing game was virtually non-existent. The team did not show any interest in limiting Madrid's space making it all too easy for the reigning European champs to have their way.

Moreover, their attack was rather limited and predictable. Time and again, Cruz Azul opted for attacking down the right flank to exploit the space Marcelo was leaving behind. They were obviously looking to exploit a weakness, but in doing so made it easy for Madrid to close down space and prevent any threats from that side of the pitch.

All in all, it was proof that there is a gulf in the class and talent between these two sides.

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