Real Madrid and Al-Hilal drew 1-1 in their first match in Group H of the Club World Cup – one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far.

Both goals came in the first half – Gonzalo Garcia gave the “kings” the lead in the 34th minute, but just seven minutes later Ruben Neves restored parity from the penalty spot after a foul in the penalty area.

The match was closely watched due to the fact that it was the official debut for both head coaches – Xabi Alonso at the helm of Real Madrid and Simone Inzaghi on the bench for Al-Hilal.

Both teams had reasons to regret the missed victory.

The Saudi club came close to scoring again before the break when Renan Lodi found the net, but the goal was disallowed in the 19th minute. After the break, Los Blancos took the initiative, with Jude Bellingham hitting the crossbar and Arda Güler and García organizing several dangerous attacks.

At the very end of the match, Real Madrid had a golden chance to take all three points, but Federico Valverde failed to beat Yassine Bounou from the penalty spot in added time, and so the two teams shared a point each. | BGNES