Xabi Alonso and Trent Alexander-Arnold's awkward debuts

FLORIDA, THURSDAY — Real Madrid could only manage a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in the continuation of the Group H qualification of the Club World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, United States, Thursday (19/6/2025) early morning WIB. This result tarnishes Xabi Alonso's debut as Real's coach. Despite a shaky debut, Real is on the right path with Alonso.

Wise people say that the first step is always the hardest in a person's new chapter. This is also what Alonso experienced. Favored to win against Al Hilal, Real performed below expectations and had to settle for a draw. Consequently, "Los Blancos" must improve their performance and strive harder in the next two matches against RB Salzburg and Pachuca.

Alonso's debut was somewhat awkward due to the addition of two new players. It is not easy to integrate a team with a coach and several players who have just joined. Alonso has only had the opportunity to conduct three training sessions.

Alonso is also not a magician who can transform a team into greatness in an instant. He needs more time to integrate himself with the team and to transfer his knowledge to the players.

It is evident that Real played better after the cooling break in the first half. Alonso instructed young striker Gonzalo Garcia to move deeper and actively become a link in the play. This instruction was well interpreted by Garcia, who scored the opening goal for Real in the 34th minute.

"Personally, I am pleased with my performance today. However, as part of the team, we feel somewhat dissatisfied because we were unable to secure three points for our fans," said Garcia after the match.

Before the instructions from Alonso, Real played rather awkwardly. The two new recruits of Real, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, had not played in an organized manner due to the limited training sessions they had participated in. In the first half, Alexander-Arnold appeared uncomfortable playing in the right-back position, which is his natural position.

This is because Alonso changed the approach between using three defenders and four defenders. Throughout the match, Real alternated between the two defensive formations. The dynamic defensive shape made Alexander-Arnold somewhat awkward in switching roles between wing-back and center-back. When Alexander-Arnold defended as a center-back, Rodrygo filled the vacancy in the right wing-back position.

The awkward situation in Real's defense was exploited by Al Hilal. In the first half, 48 percent of Al Hilal's passes in Real's defensive third targeted the right wing guarded by Alexander-Arnold. Both Alexander-Arnold and Rodygro struggled to cope with the agile movements of Salem Al-Dawsari. Al Hilal's wing-back Renan Lodi also continued to move quickly but often found himself caught in the wrong position.

Alexander-Arnold's narrower position limits his ability to deliver dangerous long balls that have become his trademark. On several occasions, he attempted to make long passes, one of which was directed to Vinicius Junior. His passes were inaccurate and soared out of the field.

Al Hilal took advantage of Alonso's awkward debut and those two new players. They managed to score a goal in the 19th minute through a shot by Lodi. However, the goal was ultimately disallowed as Lodi was caught offside beforehand.

"This was a great match from the team. We played with high organization and showed an outstanding performance against Real Madrid. I am happy and completely satisfied with the players' performance," said Al Hilal Coach, Simone Inzaghi.

The presence of Inzaghi, who has just become a finalist in the UEFA Champions League, serves as a particular motivation for Al Hilal. Although they are not favored, Al Hilal demonstrates that they are not an opponent to be taken lightly.

Moreover, Al Hilal is somewhat different from other Asian representatives that do not have a luxurious team composition. With a substantial influx of funds, Al Hilal is reinforced by players who have experienced the intense competition in Europe, such as Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Malcom, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Al Hilal successfully equalized through a penalty by Ruben Neves in the 41st minute. Real was penalized after center-back Raul Asencio fouled forward Marcos Leonardo. In the second half, Real increased the intensity of their attacks, threatening Al Hilal's goal, which was guarded by Yassine Bounou, several times.

As the match was nearing its end, Real had a golden opportunity to score the winning goal through a penalty kick. However, Federico Valverde's penalty execution was still thwarted by Bounou.

"Every match we need to take something positive, learn from what we can improve, and each match will provide us with lessons to continue developing," said Alonso when asked about his debut match. (REUTERS)