Real Madrid's Raúl Alarcón slides tackles Al-Hilal's Salem Al-Dawsari during the Club World Cup group H soccer match between Real Madrid and Al Hilal in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP )

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP): Xabi Alonso got off to a disappointing start at Real Madrid as the Spanish giant was held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the Club World Cup.

In his first game as coach of the 15-time European champion, Alonso was denied victory when Federico Valverde's stoppage-time penalty was saved.

The VAR-awarded spot kick looked like it would hand Madrid - and Alonso - a late reprieve after being pushed at Hard Rock Stadium by Al Hilal under new coach Simone Inzaghi.

But the Group H game ended tied, with Gonzalo Garcia scoring for Madrid in the 34th minute and Ruben Neves equalizing for Al Hilal from the penalty spot seven minutes later.

Madrid was given a chance at victory when VAR spotted a foul by Mohammed Alqahtani on Fran Garcia in the box.

Valverde stepped up to take the penalty two minutes into added time, but he dropped to his knees after his low effort was saved by Yassine Bounou, sparking wild celebrations from the Al Hilal goalkeeper's teammates.

While it was an underwhelming start for Alonso, Inzaghi's Al Hilal made an early statement of its potential by holding its own against Madrid.

It might have been even better for Saudi Arabia's most successful team, which was without injured star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, if Marcos Leonardo had taken one of three chances in front of goal.