'Real Madrid faced a team with character'
Simone Inzaghi analysed Al Hilal's draw against Real Madrid. The Italian coach highlighted the character of his side, who made things difficult for the 'Meregues'.
Al Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi said on Wednesday that he has great appreciation for Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso as a “person and a coach”, but stressed that his team played a game of “character” and considered the 1-1 draw in the FIFA Club World Cup opener to be well deserved.
"You can see the concepts that Xabi Alonso wants to bring, I appreciate him as a person and a coach. It's a Madrid team that tries to play, but Madrid came up against a team that played with character," Inzaghi said at the post-match press conference.
Madrid took the lead with a goal from their youth product Gonzalo Garcia, but conceded the equaliser from Ruben Neves from the penalty spot. Goalkeeper Yassine Bono saved a late penalty from Fede Valverde in the 90'.
"I knew Bono, it's not a surprise. He had excellent seasons and beyond the penalty, he helped us a lot," he said.
He also praised the character of his players, including a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic with whom he was reunited after his time at Lazio. "It was a good game, my team was very good, an excellent game, organized, we played as a team, together, and we played Madrid, who are one of the three best teams in the world. I couldn't ask for more," he said.