Real Madrid held by Al-Hilal at FIFA Club World Cup
What's the story
Xabi Alonso's debut as Real Madrid coach ended in disappointment with a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup on Wednesday.
The match, held at Hard Rock Stadium, saw Gonzalo Garcia score for Madrid in the 34th minute.
However, Al-Hilal equalized seven minutes later through Ruben Neves's penalty kick.
Late on in the contest, Federico Valverde's missed penalty meant the match ended 1-1 in this Group H contest.
Missed opportunity
Valverde misses penalty in stoppage time
The match took a dramatic turn in stoppage time when VAR awarded Real Madrid a penalty for a foul by Mohammed Alqahtani on Fran Garcia in the box.
Valverde stepped up to take the spot kick but his low effort was saved by Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
This denied Alonso victory in his first game as coach of the 15-time European champion club.
Strong defense
Al-Hilal show their potential under new coach Inzaghi
Despite the draw, Al-Hilal under new coach Simone Inzaghi showed their potential by holding off the Spanish giants.
The Saudi Arabian team had several opportunities to win but failed to capitalize on them.
Leonardo missed three clear chances while star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic's absence due to injury also affected their performance.
Information
Here are the match stats
Real clocked 19 attempts with 7 shots on target. They had 53% ball possession and a pass accuracy of 90% from 498 passes. Al-Hilal had 13 attempts with two shots on target. They earned 6 corners with Real managing 5.
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