Real Madrid 1 – 1 Al Hilal FC Player Ratings: Gonzalo Garcia Rated 6.5/10 as Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid Disappoint

Real Madrid locked horns with Al Hilal in their first group stage game of the FIFA Club World Cup on 18th June, 2025, at 3:00 PM (GMT), at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. The crowd turned out in large numbers to see a thrilling Real vs. Al Hilal contest in Florida's scorching heat. All eyes were on Madrid's young Spanish centre-back duo Raul Asencio and Dean Huijsen, who started the game together in Xabi Alonso's first game in charge for the Los Blancos. Al Hilal were also playing their first official game under their new manager, Simone Inzaghi, who came off a successful stint at Inter Milan.

The game started with Real Madrid dominating possession for the majority of the game, but Al Hilal slowly grew into the game and took matters into their own hands. They were quick to win the balls in the middle of the park and caused problems for the two weakest links in the Madrid backline - Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia.

It was in the 20th minute when Trent lost possession in the middle, and Salem Al-Dawsari slipped Renan Lodi down the left after a short run, which the Brazilian finished quite well past the diving Thibaut Courtois. However, the linesman had his flag up for offside, denying Al Hilal their first goal of the game. The floodgates finally opened in the 34th minute, as Madrid won back possession in the middle of the park and the ball was played to Rodrygo on the right-hand side, who placed a well-driven cross in the path of Madrid's 21-year-old academy prospect, Gonzalo Garcia, whose scrappy finish found the back of the net. Al Hilal responded well as they kept pressurizing the Madrid midfield and backline, which proved to be fruitful, as Raul Asencio seemed to pull the shirt of Marcos Leonardo, resulting in a penalty kick. Ruben Neves stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake in putting Al Hilal back into the game.

The second half saw Madrid play with a bit more urgency, as Arda Guler came close with a shot from six yards out but could only find the crossbar above Yassine Bounou. Madrid were quick to latch onto the loose ball, which found its way to Vinicius on the left-hand side. The Brazilian lobbed the ball in the danger area, which was met well by Gonzalo, but Bounou was attentive to palm it away, preventing Madrid from taking the lead.

Real Madrid kept pushing as they won quite a number of corners post the 60th-minute mark but were unable to find the back of the net. Al Hilal sat deep for the majority of the second half, relying on their counter-attacking abilities, but were dealt with well by the likes of Dean Huijsen in Real's backline. Al Hilal found themselves in an unfortunate position in the 88th minute as Al Qahtani's dangling left hand struck Fran Garcia's face, and after a prolonged VAR check, a penalty was awarded in favour of Real Madrid. Fede Valverde stepped up to hit it but didn't catch it properly, which was nicely saved by the former Atletico Madrid man, Bounou. Madrid were disappointed that they let the game slip away from their hands in the dying moments of the game. Here are the Real Madrid vs Al Hilal FC Player Ratings.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Goalkeeper:

Thibaut Courtois - 6/10

Made a good save early on from a venomous shot from Malcom. The Belgian goalkeeper was neat with the ball at his feet, too.

Defenders:

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6/10

Started as a right-back but slowly drifted into the midfield position as the game went on. Trent Alexander-Arnold was instrumental in controlling the tempo for Madrid, as the new marquee signing played quite a good number of dangerous passes through the Al Hilal backline. However, he was caught out of position on numerous occasions when Al Hilal went on the counter.

Raul Asencio - 5.5/10

The young centre-back was full of valor, lunging into tackles whenever it was needed. Except for the silly penalty in the first half, overall, a satisfactory performance from the Spaniard.

Dean Huijsen - 6/10

Another new signing for Madrid this season, Huijsen held the defensive line well and was quick to play it out from the back. His diagonal passes to Vinicius and Rodrygo were a treat to watch.

Fran Garcia - 5/10

The left back was caught out at times by Malcom on the right wing. Misjudged the flight of the ball quite a few times, which helped the Al Hilal winger get into dangerous positions in and around the Madrid penalty box.

Midfielders:

Federico Valverde - 6/10

The Uruguayan played out a typical captain's game - going into crucial tackles in the middle of the park and passing the ball around effortlessly. Federico Valverde once again proved why he is the engine of Madrid's midfield, as he was the one who covered the maximum distance for the Los Blancos in the game. Was unfortunate to miss the penalty in the dying minutes to provide Madrid the lead.

Aurelien Tchouameni - 6/10

The French midfielder shielded the backline well and tracked back quite a number of times to cover for Trent.

Jude Bellingham - 6.5/10

Made a couple of good runs, which he does so well, behind the Al Hilal backline. Jude Bellingham twisted and turned a good number of players to create space for himself and his teammates in and around the opposition's penalty box.

Forwards:

Rodrygo - 6/10

Tried his best on the right wing, taking on Renan Lodi from time to time. Rodrygo managed to get the better of the left back on a few occasions and provided the assist for Gonzalo Garcia's goal in the first half.

Gonzalo Garcia - 6.5/10

The young striker completely missed his lines while meeting a low-driven cross from Rodrygo. Although he pressed the backline well, the forward didn't have much to do throughout the game except for the scrappy finish in the first half.

Vinicius Jr. - 5.5/10

Vinicius was quite lively on the left-hand side of the pitch, taking on João Cancelo and leaving him behind for good. Tried to deceive the referee with a dive from Koulibaly's harmless challenge, which earned him a yellow card for diving.

Substitutes:

Arda Guler - 6/10

Showed his quality as soon as he came off the bench, with a good shot from six yards out, but was unfortunate to find just the crossbar.

Brahim Diaz - 6/10

Lucas Vazquez - 6/10

Victor Munoz - NA

Luka Modric - NA

Manager:

Xabi Alonso - 6/10

Xabi Alonso set his team up well with a double pivot of Valverde and Tchouameni in the middle. Real Madrid pressed well in the first half, but wingback positions were a bit of a concern for him throughout the course of the game. Made quick substitutions in the second half, which turned the game in favour of his side.

Al Hilal FC Player Ratings

Goalkeeper:

Yassine Bounou - 6.5/10

Didn't have much to do in the first half except a routine save from Raul Asencio. The goalkeeper went down a bit too easily for Gonzalo's scrappy finish, which should have been saved by his standards. Saved a good header from Gonzalo in the second half. Saved an important penalty in the dying minutes to keep Al Hilal in the game.

Defenders:

Joao Cancelo - 6/10

The Portuguese right back was quite lively down the wing, taking on Fran Garcia every now and then and even getting the better of the left back at times. Provided quite a few good crosses into the Madrid box, but his teammates were unable to make use of them properly.

Hassan Altambakti - 6/10

The defender did his job well in containing the young Gonzalo Garcia from getting into dangerous positions. Played the ball out from the back quickly and effectively.

Kalidou Koulibaly - 6.5/10

Koulibaly was rock-solid at the back, covering the spaces really well and finding a passing outlet from time to time.

Renan Lodi - 6.5/10

The left-back almost scored in the first half but was adjudged offside by the VAR. Lodi went up and down the left flank and caused problems for Trent, who was largely out of position.

Midfielders:

Ruben Neves - 6.5/10

The Portuguese midfielder stepped in to win numerous balls in the middle of the park, stopping Madrid's counter-attacks in turn. Ruben Neves didn't sweat much as he calmly converted the spot kick past Courtois.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - 6/10

Savic moved the ball well from the midfield and made darting runs with and without the ball. The midfielder was instrumental in winning a number of duels in and around the park, making life difficult for Tchouameni and Valverde.

Nasser Al Dawsari - 6.5/10

Didn't hesitate to go forward and took dangerous positions in and around the Madrid penalty box. Used his physicality well to tackle the likes of Valverde and Rodrygo on the right side of the pitch.

Forwards:

Malcom - 6/10

Except for a thunderous shot at Courtois in the first half, didn't have much to do throughout the game. Took on Fran Garcia a couple of times and was successful in getting past the Spanish left back.

Marcos Leonardo - 5/10

The forward was presented with a very good chance in the first half but missed it completely. Dropped deep at times to help out his midfielders.

Salem Al-Dawsari - 6/10

Was lively down the left wing and caused problems for the Madrid backline, especially Trent Alexander-Arnold. The winger was on hand to exploit the space left behind by Madrid's new right back and got into dangerous positions inside the penalty box.

Substitutes:

Mohammed Al-Qahtani - 6/10

Hamad Al-Yami - 6/10

Mohamed Kano - 6/10

Moteb Al-Harbi - NA

Musab Fahd Aljuwayr - NA

Manager:

Simone Inzaghi - 6/10

Al Hilal's new manager ditched his traditional three at the back to play a four-man defense in this match. His team held their defensive shape well and caused problems for the Madrid backline almost every time they went forward. The use of superior physical players in the middle of the park paid dividends as his midfielders were quick to break any Madrid attack that looked dangerous.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match: Dean Huijsen