Real Madrid – Al Hilal: Alonso Slow Start, Inzaghi Immediate Impact (1-1)

In a heated, humid atmosphere at Hard Rock Stadium, Xabi Alonso inaugurated his chapter with Real Madrid with a draw. La Fábrica graduate, Gonzalo Garcia, broke the deadlock after a tough start. Then, Ruben Neves equalized from a penalty spot. Nearing the end, Yassine Bouno rose to the occasion, denying Federico Valverde’s penalty. The game highlighted a slow start for Xabi Alonso in contrast to Simone Inzaghi’s immediate effect.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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After a trophyless, dreadful season, Real Madrid parted ways with Carlo Ancelotti, dropping the curtain on an era that was full of joyful, glorious, and emphatic moments. A chapter in which Real Madrid lifted eleven trophies, two of which were UEFA Champions League cups. The Italian manager went to coach the Brazilian national team, making way for Xabi Alonso to take the helm.

Before landing in the United States for the Club World Cup, Real Madrid upgraded their squad, sealing Dean Huijsen’s deal coming from Bournemouth, whereas Trent Alexander-Arnold saw off his childhood club, Liverpool, looking for a new adventure overseas. And what could be more suitable for Arnold than joining his compatriot Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid?

Al Hilal also changed their coaching staff, bringing in Simone Inzaghi to replace Jorge Jesus in the dugout. After managing Internazionale for four years, leading them to major podiums, the Italian manager expressed his willingness to experience coaching abroad. Inzaghi faced some scoffing regarding his statement; however, he claimed that he is happy to pay the price this way.

Xabi Alonso started with Dean Huijsen and Raúl Asencio at the heart of the defense, with Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia as fullbacks. In midfield, Aurélien Tchouaméni featured as a pivot, with Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde as central midfielders. Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo hugged the touchlines, with Gonzalo Garcia leading the attack.

Simone Inzaghi set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 on paper. João Cancelo, Hassan Al Tambakti, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Renan Lodi slotted in the backline. Nasser Al-Dawsari joined Rúben Neves in the pivot. Malcom and Salem Aldawsari operated as wingers, whereas Marcos Leonardo got the nod as a striker behind Sergej Milinković-Savić.

Alonso and Inzaghi’s tactical intents

Xabi Alonso’s era began with major structural changes. Real Madrid adopted a positional approach in which the team swung between a 3-2-5 and 4-3-3 shape in possession. Mainly, the structural change was led by Alexander-Arnold, who acted as a situational pivot alongside Tchouaméni in advanced buildup with Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde operating in the inside channels, whereas Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo hugged the touchlines.

Out of possession, Al Hilal set up in a 4-4-2 low/medium block, in which Milinković-Savić and the striker Marcos Leonardo led the frontline. One of them pounced on Dean Huijsen, whilst the other stayed close to Tchouaméni with Salem Aldawsari monitoring Arnold’s movements. Al Hilal winger Malcom was ready to jump on Fran Garcia. Rúben Neves and Nasser Al Dawsari took charge of Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde. The fullbacks were tasked with shutting down Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo with the support of the wingers.

In the deep buildup, Al Hilal constructed in a 4-2-4 formation. For Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham joined Gonzalo Garcia to jump on the center-backs. Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo were tasked with keeping an eye on the fullbacks, with the former maintaining a close distance with Rúben Neves. Valverde split the double pivots, whilst Tchouaméni positioned himself between Al Hilal’s midfield and offensive lines to be able to pounce on the free pivot in case Bouno played short.

The Moroccan goalkeeper had clear instructions to go long and find Milinković-Savić down the right-inside channel. The latter functioned as a target as he outplayed his opponents in the air. The second minute of the game saw the Serbian professional heading the ball down to Malcom behind Fran Garcia. Al Hilal’s pair combined, allowing Savić to arrive at the edge of the box and fire a rocket, which required Courtois to recall his magical saves.

In possession, Rúben Neves was a crucial cog to Inzaghi’s team during the buildup phase. He imperturbed Real Madrid’s lateral shifting in Al Hilal’s defensive third, as he was the getaway when his team was stacked wide. Therefore, he threaded between the two sides of the pitch. That tipped the scales in Inzaghi’s men’s favor as they exploited Real Madrid’s lateral shuffle to find wide avenues to progress. 

In advanced buildup, the Portuguese midfielder tended to drop between the center-backs to dictate play from deep. That saw João Cancelo and Renan Lodi hold the width, enabling the wingers to tuck inside.

10th minute: Al Hilal accesses the free player, Renan Lodi, through Nasser Al Dawsari. Al Hilal’s left winger and striker dart behind Arnold, drawing Real Madrid’s center-backs and Tchouaméni. As a result, Milinković-Savić is left free. Al Hilal switches play toward the right side, where Malcom sets up João Cancelo in a good position to cross the ball toward Salem Aldawsari. The latter misses his strike, but it goes into Marcos Leonardo, who puts it outside near the left post.

Real Madrid central overload

Real Madrid attacked in a 3-2-5 shape. Los Blancos generated a numerical superiority in the first line. To counter that, Malcom jumped onto Fran Garcia, which enabled Al Hilal to match the white team in numbers. However, that only led to Inzaghi’s team getting outnumbered in their midfield line. To elaborate, Alexander-Arnold narrowed inside, creating a four-versus-three situation. In addition, Valverde and Tchouaméni tended to move in opposite directions horizontally to stretch Al Hilal’s second line. That opened up a central corridor for Real Madrid’s players in the backline to slide a line-breaking pass through the Saudi Arabian team. Koulibaly aggressively stepped out to prevent Gonzalo Garcia from receiving and initiated a counterattack down the space vacated by Arnold’s inside movements.

The English right back narrowing inside was a double-edged sword, as it left Real Madrid vulnerable in counterattacks down the left side. In possession, Alexander-Arnold forced Al Hilal winger, Salem Aldawsari to shift inside, which unlocked a direct passing lane between the backline and Rodrygo. Not only that, but Arnold’s inside channel run kept dragging Aldawsari with him, allowing Rodrygo to indent and shoot.

Despite the poor performance in the first part of the game, Real Madrid was able to capitalize on a counterattack situation. Thirty-four minutes in, Arnold cut off Aldawsari’s pass and picked out Gonzalo Garcia, who got rid of Malcom and Rúben Neves. Real Madrid’s striker found Vinícius Júnior near the halfway line. From there, the white team galloped the length of the pitch until Valverde fed Rodrygo at the edge of the box. The latter prodded the ball across onto Gonzalo Garcia, who turned his teammate’s effort home.

37th minute: Real Madrid attacking sequence. Arnold’s joining the midfield forces Aldawsari to narrow inside; Rúben Neves engages with Tchouaméni, whereas Valverde pins Nasser Al Dawsari in the right inside channel. That saw Real Madrid generate a four-versus-three situation in midfield. Malcom is unable to shift across because his attention is drawn by Fran Garcia. Therefore, Dean Huijsen glides the ball through to the free Bellingham, who releases Gonzalo Garcia in a good goal-scoring situation.

Al Hilal’s wide dynamics

As aforementioned, Al Hilal constructed their attacks in a 3-2-5 formation, in which Rúben Neves dropped to the backline and the wingers indented, allowing the fullbacks to operate wide. On the right side, Cancelo intended to come short, pulling out Fran Garcia. That vacated the flank for Malcom to shift into, obligating Dean Huijsen to shuffle across. As a consequence, Al Hilal seized the opportunity to clip the ball over the top and find the striker, Marcos Leonardo, sprinting down the right inside channel. The latter dispossessed Raúl Asencio inside the box, coercing the Spanish center-back into fouling him and driving the referee to whistle a penalty kick, which Rúben Neves successfully pulled off.

On the left side, when Salem Aldawsari held the width, Renan Lodi stayed behind to lure Rodrygo’s attention, whilst Nasser Al Dawsari took position in the inside channel to tie Alexander-Arnold’s hands. That saw Al Hilal winger receive in space, cut inside, pushing Real Madrid’s block backward. Arriving at zone fourteen, Salem Aldawsari combined in a one-two with Milinković-Savić to penetrate the box and whip his deliveries.

Real Madrid with fresh blood

After a slow start in the first half, Real Madrid went into second gear in the second part of the game. Raúl Asencio made way for Arda Güler. That saw Aurélien Tchouaméni slot in the right center-back position. Real Madrid put more emphasis on producing isolation situations for Vinícius Júnior on the left side via Arnold switches of play. Xabi Alonso’s team were close to reaping the reward from such a moment when the Brazilian winger gained a space against Malcom to play the ball across. Arda Güler came from behind, hitting the woodwork.

Xabi Alonso’s tactical ideas refreshed Real Madrid’s left side. Federico Valverde or Arda Güler stepped behind the block, allowing Fran Garcia to advance down the left inside channel. The latter pinned Malcom inside, with Vinícius Júnior getting some chalk on his boots and pulling Cancelo out of his position. That expanded Al Hilal’s lines laterally and generated space for Bellingham inside to receive.

Out of possession, Real Madrid maintained the same aforementioned shape, with Arda Güler executing Valverde’s initial role and the Uruguayan fulfilling Tchouaméni’s mission. When the ball went sideways, Real Madrid was late shifting across, as Rodrygo didn’t narrow inside on time to shut down Nasser Al Dawsari. Hence, Al Hilal worked the ball out, finding their free pivot to access Cancelo and switch the play toward Renan Lodi.

Arda Güler had the license to roam. When he functioned on the right, he formed a triangle with Arnold and Rodrygo, in which they swapped positions to yield crossing situations from wide areas or down the inside corridor. Both managers substituted their right backs and wingers. Mohammed Al-Qahtani and Hamad Al-Yami replaced Malcom and João Cancelo, whereas Brahim Diaz and Lucas Vázquez came in for Rodrygo and Alexander-Arnold.

The same patterns took place after the replacements. Real Madrid’s wide rotations enabled them to find avenues to infiltrate the box, pushing Al Hilal’s block deeper to create space at the edge of the box for players coming from behind.

73rd minute: Brahim Diaz picks out Arda Güler and attacks the channel without being tracked. As a result, Vázquez is able to slide the inside diagonal pass to the Moroccan player. Al Hilal narrowed their block in both directions between the penalty area and the six-yard box, permitting Brahim Diaz to find Valverde in space at the edge of the penalty box. The Uruguayan fired a shot into Bouno’s hands.

Al Hilal attempted to catch Real Madrid off guard on the counter, exploiting Lucas Vázquez’s high position. Not only that, but Milinković-Savić continued to act as a target for Bouno’s long chips. From there, Al Hilal collected the second ball and scampered forward behind Vázquez via wide combinations.

Simone Inzaghi’s team kept defending deeper. Consequently, Real Madrid’s backline players, mainly Dean Huijsen, found teammates between the lines to access Lucas Vázquez on the right side and play the ball across. The Spanish center-back also took the initiative, carrying the ball inside Al Hilal’s block until he invited pressure to release Victor Muñoz behind the defense.

After Muñoz came on for Vinícius Júnior, Real Madrid put more effort into figuring out avenues from the right side via wide rotations. When it wasn’t possible to infiltrate the box from the right, Al Hilal’s deep defensive unit enabled Real Madrid to work the ball around and find the left winger, who intended to feed teammates with crosses. Moreover, Fran Garcia’s inside runs contributed to forcing Al Hilal backward, leaving room for Dean Huijsen to whip early crosses from the left inside channel toward the far post, where Gonzalo Garcia was close to giving his team a late winner. However, Bouno forestalled the white team’s chances.

Takeaways

Xabi Alonso and Simone Inzaghi started their new experiences, sharing one point, with the former being close to a late win, had Federico Valverde turned the penalty kick in. In the first half, Al Hilal showed their true essence, demonstrating that they are not an easy mouthful. Real Madrid had problems protecting the space left by Alexander-Arnold, inverting or pushing high up the pitch; thus, Al Hilal found joy exploiting that gap.

In the second half, Real Madrid appeared dynamic as Xabi Alonso’s tactical adjustments served the team well, putting his cogs in their favored positions to draw out the maximum of their capabilities. Real Madrid’s first performance under the Spanish manager hinted that the team needs more time to bring Alonso’s demands to reality, whilst Thibaut Courtois confirmed this, stating that Los Blancos still have the old regime’s automatisms in their minds, which is something that cannot be changed overnight.

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