Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal: Late penalty drama sees Saudi side earn deserved point | OneFootball

Real Madrid were lucky to escape with a point from their FIFA Club World Cup match against Al-Hilal, with the Saudi Arabian side dominating for large spells of the match in the blistering heat at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday. Trent Alexander-Arnold was withdrawn after 65 minutes of Real Madrid debut.

Xabi Alonso’s side opened the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark when Gonzalo Garcia turned home from a Rodrygo delivery, though parity was soon restored by Simone Inzaghi’s men when Ruben Neves calmly slotted home the equaliser from the penalty spot.

There were chances aplenty for both sides in the second half, including a late penalty for Real Madrid that was saved by Bono – but ultimately Al-Hilal earned a well-deserved point against a side that has been crowned as the European champions on 15 occasions, and champions of the world five times.

As it happened

Temperatures were well in excess of 30ºC at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday as Real Madrid opened their FIFA Club World Cup campaign, with Trent Alexander-Arnold making his first appearance for los Blancos following his recent move from Liverpool.

But it was Al-Hilal who forced the first real chance of the match, with Thibaut Courtois called upon to tip Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s effort away from danger before a long-range screamer from Ruben Neves nestled in the crowd. Marcus Leonardo placed a shot just wide of the post too, squandering another excellent opportunity to take the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

Renan Lodi did indeed find the back of the net with 20 minutes on the clock in Miami, though the Brazilian’s opener had made his run too early and saw his goal chalked off for offside after he’d slotted past Courtois. That soon came back to bite Al-Hilal, who found themselves trailing soon after when 21-year-old Gonzalo Garcia latched onto a tidy Rodygo delivery to net his side’s first goal of the Xabi Alonso era.

Al-Hilal weren’t trailing for long though; Raul Asencio’s blatant tug on Marcos Leonardo’s shirt saw the referee award a penalty just before the break, which was duly despatched by Ruben Neves. Simone Inzaghi’s men could – and perhaps should – have taken the lead just minutes later, when Milinkovic-Savic whipped a teasing strike a few inches wide of the far corner.

Eager to restore their advantage, Real Madrid came out fighting after the break and almost instantly struck the crossbar when substitute Arda Guler smashed a Vinicius Jr cross towards goal. But they’d soon find themselves under the cosh again, with the talismanic Marcos Leonardo sending a strike into the side netting before skying a perfect chance into the crowd.

Real’s late, desperate search for a winner looked to have come to fruition when VAR awarded los Blancos a penalty after Fran Garcia was caught in the mouth by Mohammed Al Qahtani, despite it seeming to be unintentional. Al-Hilal will feel that justice was soon served though, with Bono producing a fine save to thwart Fede Valverde’s low strike and ensure the Saudi side kept hold of a well-earned point against the 15-time European champions.

The lineups

RMA:

ALH: