Real Madrid held as Man City, Juve triumph in Club World Cup openers

 

Real Madrid held as Man City, Juve triumph in Club World Cup openers

 AFP

 By AFP

 Published on: June 19, 2025 09:16 (EAT)

 Man City and Juventus defeat Real Madrid in the Club World Cup openers. French forward Randal Kolo Muani (C) of Juventus celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first goal of his team's match on June 18, 2025, at the Audi Field stadium in Washington, DC, during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group G football match between Al Ain FC of the UAE and Juventus of Italy. (AFP image by ROBERTO SCHMIDT) After Manchester City got off to a winning start, new coach Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. After visiting US President Donald Trump at the White House, Juventus defeated Al Ain 5-0 in the final game in Washington. 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.

The large number of Spanish supporters in the crowd of 62,415 at Hard Rock Stadium were disappointed by the outcome. The second half was better than the first. In the second half we had better chances, better control.  "We could have won, but we have the principles to start building something," Alonso told DAZN, a broadcaster. The former Bayer Leverkusen coach gave debuts to new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen in defence but Real were missing Kylian Mbappe through illness.

 The 21-year-old Gonzalo Garcia started in his place, and shortly after the half-hour mark, he scored from an assist by Rodrygo. In Al Hilal's first game under new coach Simone Inzaghi, the team responded with a goal from the penalty spot by Ruben Neves, who had fouled Raul Asencio. After it was determined that Mohammed Al Qahtani had put his hand in the face of Fran Garcia in the box, Real had a chance to win in extra time. 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.

 Due to a storm, the match was called off early in the second half when the Austrian team was leading 1-0. It resumed 97 minutes later.