The "moon landing" failed! Galaxy Fleet Trek, Alonso's Real Madrid debut gave the Asian team the first point

Written by Han Bing Alonso, who made his debut as a manager of Real Madrid, was a little excited in the pre-match press conference: "Tomorrow, rock 'n' roll will begin. But with the 62,400 spectators at the Hard Rock Stadium enthusiastic, Alonso had to record his Real Madrid debut with a draw, as he did when he first took charge as an independent coach six years ago. At 3 p.m., Miami felt a 38°C heat, which made the new galactic fleet get lost. Alonso was a bit unlucky, as Valverde missed a late penalty that could have won the game.

The debut against Riyadh Crescent came just 24 days after Alonso took office. Although new defensive signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Hausen joined, Rudiger, Alaba, Militão, Mendy, Carvajal and Camavinga were the six main defensive players, and Mbappe, who had a high fever and could barely eat before the game, and Endrick, who recovered from injury, were also not included in the squad.

Alonso opted for Raul Asensio (22) and new signing Hausen (20) to partner in central defence, with new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold starting at right-back. Although the central midfield is almost full of work, the central striker is also a cameo by 21-year-old B Team striker Gonzalo Garcia. Alonso made his debut with an average age of just 24 years and 300 days, making him the youngest to make his debut for any of the 10 Real Madrid coaches since 2009/10.

Real Madrid's popularity is undeniable, and even on a hot weekday afternoon, the 64,700-capacity Hard Rock Stadium Miami still seats 62,415 spectators. Since the start of the Club World Cup, it is second only to Inter Milan 4-0 Atletico Madrid (80,600), surpassing the "home team" Miami International in the opening match of the Club World Cup (60,900), and the attendance rate (96.5%) is the highest since the start of the Club World Cup.

It's just that Real Madrid's new coach debut disappointed the fans who came to the scene, although Real Madrid maintained a lead in key statistics such as shots (19 to 13), shots on target (7 to 2), and dangerous attacks (69 to 38), but it was the Saudi giants who dominated the first half, and Riyadh Crescent, which was more adapted to the hot weather, had as many as 8 shots in the first 30 minutes, but the shooting skills were not perfect. Despite the absence of the main center forward Mitrovic, Riyadh Crescent, which started with eight top foreign players, still helped the Asian team get the first point in this Club World Cup; Real Madrid's performance improved slightly in the second half, but in the end it was still unable to pick up the wind for "Brother Long" with a good start.

Real Madrid B striker Gonzalo Garcia scored in the 34th minute to become the third-youngest player to score in the club's history in the Club World Cup (21 years and 86 days), just ahead of Geremi (21 years and 21 days) and Anelka (20 years and 297 days) in the 2000 Club World Cup.

But in the 40th minute, young central defender Raul Asensio "played with fire" in the penalty area and was cut off by Leonardo, pulling down the opponent and equalizing the score with a penalty. Although Alonso replaced Raul Asensio, who made a fatal mistake at half-time, Fran Garcia was elbowed in the box in the 88th minute, but Valverde's penalty was saved by Bounou, and Real Madrid missed a good chance to kill.

The draw ended Real Madrid's 11-game winning streak in the Club World Cup and 12 in the Club World Cup/Intercontinental Cup, while Inzaghi Jr., who had only been in charge for nine days, also made Riyadh Crescent the first Asian team to go unbeaten against a European team in the Club World Cup. In the group stage of the first Club World Cup in 2000, Real Madrid's debut opponent was also a Saudi team, but Real Madrid easily defeated Riyadh 3-1. Kashima Antlers (2016), Al Ain (2018) and Riyadh Crescent (2022) lost to Real Madrid in three consecutive finals, and this time the Asian teams finally halted a four-game losing streak against Real Madrid and European teams. However, in 2016, Kashima Antlers also drew with Real Madrid in regular time, only to lose in extra time.

It was Alonso's second winless debut since taking charge of Real Sociedad B in August 2019, and this time he was rushed into charge and there was a massive shortage of personnel at both ends of the pitch. Alonso's luck was terrible, as Güller hit the crossbar and Riyadh Crescent goalkeeper Bounou made six good saves. Real Madrid have conceded seven of their last 19 penalties and 21 of their 62 penalties in the last four seasons, a 30.7 per cent penalty conceded rate. Riyadh Crescent goalkeeper Bounou has saved seven penalties this season, while Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has saved just one of his last eight saves.

Among the new signings, Trent Alexander-Arnold was undoubtedly the most questioned, with Real Madrid's most talked-about signing enjoying the cheers of the whole stadium but being substituted after only 65 minutes in a slump. British media pointed out that the defender who has been the most dribbled in the Premier League since 2016 continued his nightmare performance on the defensive side after coming to the Galaxy Fleet, and he became the main target of Real Madrid on the right side, and was repeatedly broken through by former Atletico Madrid fullback Lodi of Riyadh Crescent. At the same time, he also lost a sharp assist at Liverpool, especially after a foul by Raul Asensio that led to a penalty, and Alexander-Arnold became more obsessed with the mentality that no mistake is a win on the right flank.

Of course, Real Madrid supporters have enough patience and it is unrealistic to expect Alonso to play a quality game in just 10 training days and half of the main line-up. Marca newspaper said after the game that Real Madrid could not change everything in four team training sessions in four days, but a winless debut would calm Alonso: Real Madrid is still far from their goal of winning the title and needs more effort.