Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal: Valverde pays the penalty as Alonso bow ends in disappointing draw
Real Madrid's first game under the tutelage of Xabi Alonso ended in late drama as they were held by Al-Hilal at the Club World Cup.
Federico Valverde missed a late penalty as Xabi Alonson's first competitive game in charge of Real Madrid ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal at the Club World Cup.
Mohammed Al Qahtani was judged to have caught Fran Garcia in the face late in Wednesday's Group H clash at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium but Bono denied the Uruguay midfielder from 12 yards.
Gonzalo Garcia had earlier put Madrid into an undeserved lead but Ruben Neves equalised from the penalty spot before the break, with Al-Hilal – playing for the first time under Simone Inzaghi – missing several presentable chances to win the game.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was denied by Thibaut Courtois prior to Marcos Leonardo wastefully skewing wide from six yards and Renan Lodi slotting home, only to be denied by the offside flag.
Garcia sweeping home Rodrygo's excellent ball across the face of goal from a swift counter put Madrid ahead against the run of play but Neves levelled from the spot after Raul Asencio clumsily felled Leonardo.
Madrid twice nearly restored their lead immediately after the restart with Arda Guler hitting the crossbar then Bono saving off the line from Garcia after Vinicius Jr played a delicious dink back into the danger zone.
Leonardo blazed over the top inside the area in a great chance for Al-Hilal and when referee Facundo Tello harshly pointed to the spot after a trip to the pitch side monitor for Al Qahtani's perceived infringement it looked like it would prove costly, but Bono came to his side's rescue with a great dive to his right and then made another great stop from Garcia deep into injury time.
Data Debrief: Madrid need to up their game to extend Club World Cup record
Under the tournaments previous guise, Madrid won the Club World Cup more than another team – winning the tournament on six occasions (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024).
One of those came against Al-Hilal in a 5-3 triumph in 2022 and before this encounter the Saudi outfit had lost both of their two matches against European opponents at the Club World Cup (also a 1-0 defeat versus Chelsea in 2021).
Madrid were disjointed for much of this encounter and it took until the 74th minute for Los Blancos to register their first corner of an underwhelming performance.
