Club World Cup 2025: Xabi Alonso botches debut at Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso had little fun in his debut as Real Madrid coach. One month after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, the 43-year-old and Spain's record champions were held to a 1-1 (1-1) draw against Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their first match of the Club World Cup in Miami. Real Madrid captain Fede Valverde was denied a penalty in stoppage time by a strong goalkeeper Bono.

In front of 62,415 spectators at the Hard Rock Stadium, most of them in Real Madrid white, youngster Gonzalo Garcia, who was called up to replace the ill star striker Kylian Mbappé, gave the Royals the lead after a counterattack (34th minute).

The strong Al-Hilal, featuring former Bayern Munich player João Cancelo, more than deservedly equalized with a penalty from Portuguese striker Ruben Neves (41'). Al-Hilal were the better side for much of the game. After the break, Real Madrid at least picked up some momentum. Substitute Arda Güler hit the crossbar (46').

In 33 degrees Celsius in the shade, Al-Hilal also made its debut on the coaching bench. 18 days after Inter Milan's bitter 5-0 defeat in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, the team from Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, played under Simone Inzaghi for the first time.

The focus, however, was on Alonso, who is expected to lead Real Madrid back to silverware as Carlo Ancelotti's successor. The Basque coached enthusiastically from the sidelines, but hasn't yet seen much positive from his team, with international Antonio Rüdiger still unable to return to action following knee surgery. Real's other opponents in Group H are Red Bull Salzburg and CF Pachuca of Mexico.

RND/dpa