In the Club World Cup on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw and Federico Valverde squandered a penalty in stoppage-time.
After Xabi Alonso’s first game in charge ended with a point share, a sizable contingent of Real fans in a crowd of 62, 415 at the Hard Rock Stadium became frustrated.
It was a remarkable performance for the Saudi club, which caused a lot of problems for Real’s defense before delivering a hugely positive surprise result with Italian substitute Simone Inzaghi also making his debut on the bench.
Al-Hilal got off to a high start in the 19th minute when Salem Aldawsari headed home from close range before Marcos Leonardo’s effort was just wide.
The Saudi team’s opener was headed in the direction of Renan Lodi, but the effort was deemed unconvincing. Aldawsari showed his pace from a different risky break, but he dragged his shot wide.
Rodrygo cut in from the right and fired a left-foot shot just over the bar as Real gradually took control of the game.
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Real’s leadership, however, was beginning to emerge, and they took the lead in the 34th minute.
Rodrygo drilled a low ball into the box after Gonzalo, who had been continuing his run, provided a delicate finish. Gonzalo, who started the break in place of Kylian Mbappe, did so from deep.
Although it was a classic counterattacking goal, the Saudi side’s enthusiasm persisted and the team kept moving forward with vigor.
When Marcos Leonardo was determined to have been pulled down by Raul Asencio, and Portugal international Ruben Neves calmly tucked away the penalty, they were level four minutes before the break.
Just before the break, Aldawsari, who scored the winner for Saudi Arabia in their heartfelt victory over Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar, threatened once more.
After the break, Real made a strong start by launching Arda Guler’s volley from a Vinicius Jr. cross into the bar.
Inzaghi is described as “very satisfied.”
A few moments later, Gonzalo successfully saved Yassine Bounou with a strong header from a Vinicius cross before Valverde fired a shot wide from 25 yards out.
After surviving that storm from Real, Al-Hilal began to question the Real defense, with Marcos Leonardo failing to make the most of two excellent chances.
Real were given the final three points when Mohammed Al Qahtani was found to have struck back in the face of Fran Garcia with three minutes remaining.
After a highly commendable performance, Valverde saved the diving Bounou to earn the Saudis a point.
“It was a good match for my team,” he said. They did a great job. Our teamwork was excellent and well-organized. Real Madrid, one of the three strongest teams in the world, is up against us collectively, in my opinion. Inzaghi expressed his satisfaction with the situation.
In a nutshell, I couldn’t have asked for more. I had faith. I mentioned yesterday that I had observed the team working well, but he continued, “I’m very happy as a coach,” he continued.
After a poor opening 45 minutes, Alonso was pleased with how his team had responded.
We were lacking in many things in the first half, both with and without the ball. He claimed that we lost the ball too quickly, that we didn’t have enough balance, and that these things took more time to correct than we should have.
Source: Channels TV
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