Real Madrid drew 1-1 against Al-Hilal in the opening match of the new era under Xabi Alonso.
New Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso did not start his spell on a winning note thanks to Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bonou, who saved a penalty during added time in their 1-1 draw at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. Federico Valeverde saw his penalty saved down to his left, meaning the Spanish giants started off the new era under the former Bayer Leverkusen manager with a less-than-ideal result against the team coached by Simone Inzaghi.
The Saudi team had a much better first half, but despite having 11 shots (Real Madrid only had five in the opening 45 minutes), it was the side coached by Xabi Alonso who scored the opening goal with Gonzalo Garcia, who started alongside Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr., as Kylian Mbappe was benched, showing the Spanish manager has no fear of making changes and trusting the young players.
Here's what we have learned in the first 90 minutes of the new era under Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid:
The Spanish giants didn't have their best defensive performance, especially in the first half on the left side, as a misunderstanding between Fran Garcia and Raul Asencio led to the penalty scored by Ruben Neves before halftime.
There is still a lot to work to do for the former Bayer Leverkusen head coach, as the defense of his Real Madrid seemed too weak and conceded too much to Al-Hilal. Despite the debuts of both Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, it's fair to say neither of them could actually make an impact, as the whole defensive system seemed confused. The team seemed not really connected between the defense and the midfield, but that's something we could probably have expected considering they only started to work all together after the international break last week, as Xabi Alonso took charge of his new team only on May 26, before most of the players played with their respective national teams in the first days of June.
It's too early to say what the issues of this team are, but there is definitely a lot of work to do for the new Real Madrid manager.
Let's now take a look at the positive sides of the first match under Xabi Alonso. As mentioned, the Spanish manager seems to trust a lot the young players of the roster, and this season there will be many more expectations on Turkish talent Arda Guler. After a disappointing first half, Xabi Alonso decided to make one early change at halftime, with Arda Guler replacing Raul Asencio. Guler was probably the best player for Real Madrid in the second half, with three key passes, three shots and 82% pass accuracy in the second part of the match. If there is one player that impressed in a positive way for Real Madrid, that's definitely Guler, who surely hopes to become a key starter this season.
If all the eyes were on the performances of the new Real Madrid players and the opening game of the new cycle of manager Xabi Alonso, the most emotional moment of the match between the Spanish team and Al-Hilal was definitely when Luka Modric made his way on the pitch in the last 10 minutes, as the whole Hard Rock Stadium in Miami greeted the Croatian legend who is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the FIFA Club World Cup, as it was announced by the same Modric and Real Madrid.
Modric, who is expected to join AC Milan, four La Liga titles and six Champions League among many other titles.