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Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring on the day before Ruben Neves’ strike from the spot brought Al Hilal back on level terms as he teams ended up sharing the spoils.
Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde tries to get past Al-Hilal’s Hassan Al-Tombakti during the Club World Cup group H soccer match between Real Madrid and Al Hilal in Miami Gardens, Fla., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Spanish giants Real Madrid were held to a draw by Saudi Pro League outfit Al Hilal on Thursday in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup 2025 in the USA.
Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring on the day before Ruben Neves’ strike from the spot brought Al Hilal back on level terms as he teams ended up sharing the spoils.
New Madrid boss Xabi Alonso was held to the stalemate in his debut for the Spanish heavyweights, but lauded his team for coming back strong with a solid second half performance despite a slow start to the game.
“In the first half, we were lacking a lot of things, with and without the ball. I think we lost the ball too quickly, we didn’t have much balance, and these are things we had talked about and it took us a little longer to get right,” Alonso said.
“I liked the reaction at half-time, we were able to give the game another meaning, another rhythm, have more people giving it a good pause, good control of the game,” the 43-year-old added.
It was also Al Hilal boss Simone Inzaghi’s maiden outing for the Saudi Pro League, and the former Inter boss opined that he appreciaed what he saw from his players on the day to hold the Spanish Capital City giants to a draw.
“It was a good match for my team. They played very well. We played an excellent, organised team game. Together, we stood up to Real Madrid, which I think is one of the three strongest teams in the world. I am very satisfied,” Inzaghi said.
“In short, I couldn’t have asked for more. I was confident. I said yesterday that I had seen the team working well, but a performance like this, also thinking about what is to come, makes me very happy as a coach,” the Italian added.
Earlier in the day, Manchester City posted a 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca as Phil Foden scored one before setting up Jeremy Doku for the other as Pep Guardiola’s men opened the event with a win over the Moroccan side.
RB Salzburg edged out Pachua 2-1 as Oscar Gloukh’s opener for the Austrian side was cancelled out by Bryan Gonzalez, but Karim Onisiwo’s second half strike helped Salzburg claim all points on offer.
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