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MIAMI: Real Madrid labored to a 1-1 Club World Cup draw against a spirited Al-Hilal in searing heat on Wednesday as Xabi Alonso’s managerial debut for the 15-time European champions delivered flashes of promise but ultimately felt like an exhibition match.
Gonzalo Garcia, stepping in for the fever-stricken Kylian Mbappe, gave Real an early lead with a composed finish, but Ruben Neves levelled from the spot before halftime as Simone Inzaghi’s men showed defensive grit and enough attacking intent to rattle their illustrious opponents.
A last-gasp missed penalty from Federico Valverde summed up a day when Real’s legs, and ideas, wilted in the heat and humidity at a nearly sold-out Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
RB Salzburg and Pachuca meet in the other Group H fixture later on Wednesday. Real will next face the Mexican side on Sunday, while Al-Hilal will take on Salzburg in what could prove a decisive clash for qualification to the knockout stage.
With Mbappe ruled out, it was the 21-year-old Garcia who led the line for Real and he did not disappoint, while new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold was nowhere near the level that persuaded the Spanish club to lure him from Liverpool.
It was Al-Hilal, however, who burst out of the blocks, swarming around the Real penalty area with early intent — though their finishing let them down at crucial moments.
In the 29th minute, Salem Al-Dawsari nearly produced a moment of magic, weaving his way into the box before Aurelien Tchouameni slid in with a crucial interception to steer the ball behind.
The Saudi side thought they had taken the lead shortly after, only for their celebrations to be cut short by an offside flag.
Despite the heat — and with the cheapest tickets in the stadium selling for over $160 while premium seats soared beyond $950 — a vibrant crowd kept the energy high.
A much-needed 30th-minute cooling break gave Real a chance to regroup, with players draping towels over their shoulders and gulping down rehydrating drinks in the sweltering heat. The short pause worked wonders.
Four minutes later, Real struck. A slick team move carved open the Al-Hilal defense, and Garcia showed composure beyond his years, delicately lifting the ball over Yassine Bounou after being teed up by Rodrygo.
But Al-Hilal refused to wilt. They drew level four minutes before halftime when Ruben Neves calmly slotted home a penalty after Raul Asencio pulled back Marcos Leonardo in the area.
On the stroke of halftime, Al-Dawsari went close again, firing narrowly wide after latching onto a clever pass from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to cap another flowing Al-Hilal attack.
Real stepped up a gear after the restart with substitute Arda Guler’s shot crashing against the bar before Bounou made a stunning reaction save to deny Garcia.
A second cooling break in the 68th minute did not refresh Real and although they continued to dominate, the Al-Hilal defense held firm.
Real were awarded a penalty after a VAR review when Mohammed Al-Qahtani’s flailing arm caught Fran Garcia in the last minute, only for Valverde’s soft spot kick to be saved by Bounou.

SUNRISE, Florida: The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ‘21 and the third team to do it this century.
Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the fourth player in league history to get that many in a game in the final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher.
At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, closing the door on a rematch with the same end result. The only goal came from fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time, long after the outcome was decided.
That was followed by chants of “We want the Cup!” as time ticked off the clock. The Panthers already had it. Now they get to keep it.
Not long after the Lightning made three trips to the final in a row, Florida has done the same and now has the makings of a modern-day dynasty. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Matthew Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022.
The only time they have been on the wrong side of a handshake line was the final in Vegas in 2023, only after several key players were dealing with banged up and gutting through significant injuries.
From the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett on down the roster, they were much healthier this time around and were boosted by key trade deadline additions Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Bennett led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, and Marchand had six in the final alone.
Getting depth contributions from throughout the lineup allowed them to overpower Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who struggled with Florida’s ferocious forecheck and switched goaltenders multiple times in the final. Stuart Skinner got the nod in Game 6 and was again done in by mistakes in front of him that ended with the puck in the net behind him and had his own blunder on Reinhart’s second goal.
McDavid tried to take over but was again stymied by Barkov, Jones and Bobrovsky. He finished with seven points in his second career trip to the final, again denied his first title.
Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 31 seasons and 32 years dating to Montreal in 1993. Teams in the US Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times, four of them in Florida.
This run through Tampa Bay in five, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five and Edmonton in six showed how clinical the Panthers have become under Maurice, who has coached more NHL games than everyone except Scotty Bowman and is now a two-time champion.
So is Marchand, who last hoisted the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. The 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history, just shy of 16 for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 for Mark Recchi from ‘91 to ‘06.