Philadelphia (AFP) – 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.
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The former Bayer Leverkusen coach gave debuts to new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen in defense, 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. Al Hilal hit back in their new coach Simone Inzaghi’s first game on the bench with Ruben Neves leveling before the break from the penalty spot following a Raul Asencio foul.
Real had the chance to claim victory in stoppage time after Mohammed Al Qahtani was ruled to have put his hand in the face of Fran Garcia in the box. However, Valverde’s spot-kick was saved by Yassine Bounou to give the Saudi team a draw after a hugely creditable performance. RB Salzburg took the lead in Group H with a 2-1 win over Mexican outfit Pachuca in Cincinnati. The match was suspended early in the second half with the Austrian team leading 1-0 because of a storm, resuming 97 minutes later.
– Foden stars –
In Philadelphia, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku scored first-half goals as Pep Guardiola’s City eased to a 2-0 win against Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in Group G. City gave debuts to new signings Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, but it was Foden who opened the scoring inside two minutes. Doku converted the second goal from a Foden corner shortly before the interval in a game played in sweaty early afternoon conditions in front of 37,446 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
The afternoon was slightly marred for City as Rico Lewis was sent off for a dangerous tackle late on, but Guardiola was satisfied with the winning start as his side look to turn the page following a difficult last season. “It is so hot. The humidity is not easy. We had good moments, many new players. The first game in this group stage is always really, really important. I saw many, many good things,” said Guardiola, who suggested he will make sweeping changes for the next match against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday. “We are going to train well in the next few days and then fresh legs for the next game to try to improve things,” Guardiola added. “We have a lot of new players, injured players back, and step by step we will get to the right tempo.”
– Juve dominant –
Juventus, who sent a delegation to the White House earlier in the day to present Trump with a club shirt, surged to the top of Group G with a crushing triumph over UAE team Al Ain at Audi Field. On loan Paris Saint-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both struck twice while Kenan Yildiz was also on target. “I’m delighted for my goals but first and foremost for the team’s win,” Conceicao, on loan from Porto, told DAZN. “We started the game well and that’s what we wanted to do, to win this opening match and now we need to kick on.”
The second round of group games begins on Thursday, with matches including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against Porto and European champions Paris Saint-Germain facing Copa Libertadores winners Botafogo.
© 2024 AFP
