Real Madrid draw 1-1 with Al Hilal at FIFA Club World Cup
Baku, June 19, AZERTAC
Trent Alexander-Arnold's first appearance for Real Madrid ended in a 1-1 draw as Federico Valverde saw his 92nd-minute penalty saved by Al Hilal goalkeeper Bounou at the Club World Cup, Sky Sports reported.
Bounou went the right way to keep out Valverde's effort after substitute Mohammed Al-Qahtani had been penalised following a VAR check for his arm coming into contact with Fran Garcia's face.
The save denied Xabi Alonso victory in his first game in charge, with Real Madrid having earlier taken the lead when academy product Gonzalo Garcia, starting in place of the unwell Kylian Mbappe, finished from Rodrygo's pass following a slick first-half counter.
Al Hilal had been the better side up until then, creating a series of chances, mostly through left winger Salem Al-Dawsari, who caused problems for debutant Alexander-Arnold. They scored a deserved equaliser when former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves converted from the spot after Raul Asencio had fouled Marcos Leonardo.
Al-Dawsari fired just wide in first-half stoppage time for Al Hilal, led by their new boss Simone Inzaghi, whose team included Joao Cancelo and Kalidou Koulibaly, but Real Madrid improved after the break, spurning a double chance almost instantly when substitute Arda Guler hit the bar and Garcia headed too close to Bounou.
Real Madrid pushed for a breakthrough but could not find it, despite the efforts of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, and a late cameo from Luka Modric, who is leaving the club at the end of the tournament. Alonso also handed a debut to Dean Huijsen following his arrival from Bournemouth.
It seemed they might clinch all three points when their late penalty was awarded after the referee was sent to the pitch-side monitor, but Bounou was the hero for Al Hilal, who deserved their point.
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