Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal: dull debut for Xabi Alonso's team

Real Madrid could not win in their debut in the Club World Cup. The 'Casa Blanca' barely rescued a draw against Al Hilal (1-1) in a match that had a dramatic tinge at the end, with a missed penalty and almost ten minutes of added time.

In Xabi Alonso's debut on the 'merengue' bench, the Italian Simone Inzaghi did the same with the Saudi team. The Tolosarra native opted for the youth player Gonzalo García as '9' instead of Kylian Mbappé, who was out due to a fever. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, the only reinforcements of the 'Casa Blanca' for the tournament, were also starters.

In Al Hilal, the former FC Barcelona players, Joao Cancelo and Malcom, made a good tandem on the right. With Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic leading the midfield, the Arab team took control of the match from the start and took a very meritorious draw from Miami.

Weak first half for a more compact Madrid, but lacking ideas

Madrid looked a little more organized in covering spaces and with several players making a remarkable physical display to press in the opponent's field. With the exception of Vinicius and Rodrygo, the rest of the players ran continuously behind the ball, but when recovering the ball, the team lacked depth to reach the opponent's goal.

The Brazilian Marcos Leonardo had the first clear chance of the match in the 9th minute, after catching a defective shot from Al-Dawsari entering the small area. Renan Lodi scored in offside in the 18th minute, while Tchouaméni saved a clear goal from Al-Dawsari in extremis in the 25th minute.

After the hydration break, Madrid found a goal at the feet of Gonzalo. The youth player put together a lethal counterattack in the midfield and, after a quick start, Rodrygo assisted the striker with a low pass from the right. The definition of the '30' was defective, but the ball took a strange effect to beat Bono.

In the blink of an eye in the 34th minute, the whites took an undeserved lead, but Raúl Asencio, in the 39th minute, committed an absurd penalty after holding Leonardo inside the area. Rúben Neves took charge of the penalty, deceiving Courtois with a placed right-footed shot, opening his foot.

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Bono prevented Madrid's victory by stopping a penalty at the end

After the break, Xabi put Arda Güler in place of Asencio, moving Tchouaméni back to the center of the defense. The Turk shot straight to the crossbar from a cross by Vinicius in the first play in which he participated, while Gonzalo demanded Bono with a header in the continuation of the same action.

Al Hilal reacted thanks to a distraction from Huijsen who left the ball served to Leonardo, but the Brazilian shot straight to the side of the net. Madrid improved in the second half, although without generating too many clear chances in the opponent's area. Lucas Vázquez and Brahim Díaz also entered for Alexander-Arnold and Rodrygo, seeking reaction to the inclement heat in Miami.

Víctor Múñoz and Luka Modric also entered in the final stretch for Vinicius and Bellingham. In the 88th minute, a slap from Al-Qahtani on Fran García was warned by the VAR. The Argentine main referee Facundo Tello sanctioned the penalty after reviewing the play on the monitor. Fede Valverde took charge of the penalty, but Bono stopped the Uruguayan's crossed shot.

In the end, the draw was fair in an even and very entertaining match that portrays the shortcomings of a Real Madrid far from an acceptable collective performance. Xabi Alonso will have a lot of work to do this summer to reverse the ghosts of a disastrous 24/25 season for the 'Casa Blanca'.

On Sunday, the 'merengues' will play their second match of the World Cup against Pachuca. Al Hilal, meanwhile, will face the Austrian Salzburg. For Madrid, the FIFA tournament is an absolute obligation and the last chance to forget a regrettable course.