Bounou saves penalty as Al Hilal hold Real Madrid in Club World Cup opener
Saudi Gazette report
MIAMI — Saudi giants Al Hilal delivered a heroic performance on their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 debut, holding European champions Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in Group H on Wednesday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Yassine Bounou was the star of the night, saving a stoppage-time penalty from Federico Valverde to preserve a crucial point for the Saudi champions, who stunned a packed American crowd with their energy, organization, and belief.
Real Madrid opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Gonzalo Garcia converted a low cross from Rodrygo, though the ball took an awkward deflection off his own leg before rolling past Bounou. The lead, however, was short-lived.
Just seven minutes later, Marcos Leonardo was brought down in the area by Raul Asencio, and Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves stepped up to calmly send Thibaut Courtois the wrong way from the spot, leveling the score at 1-1.
Earlier in the match, Al Hilal had already shown their intent, with Renan Lodi finding the back of the net only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.In the second half, Real Madrid introduced Arda Güler, who came close to scoring with a powerful strike that rattled the crossbar just seconds after coming on.The game reached a dramatic climax in added time when Al Hilal's Mohammed Al Qahtani conceded a penalty after a foul on Garcia. But Bounou, one of the Kingdom's top performers in recent years, produced a world-class save, diving to his left to deny Valverde and secure a historic result for the Riyadh club.With this point, Al Hilal gain momentum ahead of their next group-stage clash, as they aim to advance to the knockout stages of the expanded Club World Cup format.
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