Online Reporter
REAL Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal at the Club World Cup in new coach Xabi Alonso’s first game in charge on Wednesday, after Manchester City got off to a winning start.
In the late game Juventus thrashed Al Ain 5-0 in Washington after visiting US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Federico Valverde had a stoppage-time penalty saved as Real were forced to settle for a point in the Group H match in Miami having taken the lead. It was a disappointing outcome for the large contingent of fans of the Spanish side in the crowd of 62 415 at Hard Rock Stadium.
“The first half wasn’t as good as the second one. In the second half we had better chances, better control. For sure we have the principles to start building something, but we could have won,” Alonso told broadcaster DAZN.
The former Bayer Leverkusen coach gave debuts to new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen in defence but Real were missing Kylian Mbappe through illness.
Gonzalo Garcia started in his place and the 21-year-old seized his chance as he opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark from a Rodrygo assist. — AFP Sport.
