Al AHLY 0-0 INTER MIAMI: The opening game of the new-look Club World Cup ended in a goalless draw in Miami as Lionel Messi and co had their goalkeeper to thank
Inter Miami had goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to thank for securing them a point from their Club World Cup opener against Al Ahly on a frustrating evening for Lionel Messi. But Luis Suarez was able to see the funny side.
The tournament kicked off with a goalless draw in Miami between the MLS side and the Egyptian outfit, with the goalkeepers proving to be the stars of the show.
Veteran Ustari, a long-time team-mate of Messi’s for Argentina, made five saves in the first half, including keeping out a penalty from the former Aston Villa winger Trezeguet.
It was then the turn of Al Ahly stopper Mohamed El Shenawy to impress in the second half, as he made a series of fine stops including one from Messi – who hit the woodwork twice in the game – in stoppage time.
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Inter Miami had come on strong in the second half but were unable to beat El Shenawy, while former Liverpool and Barcelona forward Suarez grew increasingly frustrated at the decisions from Iranian-Australian referee Alireza Faghani, at one stage openly laughing at him as he attempted to officiate proceedings at a corner.
“We were much better than them, we moved a lot in transition and controlled the game and we had chances to score and win the game,” said Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano after the lively draw in front of 60,927 people.
“Football is like that, maybe in the first half they had some chances too. Obviously we wanted to win because we know how important it is to start with a win, but I’m happy with the platform.”
Al Ahly boss Jose Riveiro said: “It’s a football game, a game of mistakes. We had a decent amount of chances in the first half to put the game in a different space and we put them in a hurry.
“In the second half we were defending a little lower than what we wanted and then we had some problems in transition with controlling our first pass. It’s like we were playing in Cairo and that was a surprise for me in my first official match with Al Ahly.
“To be here in the States and have it like you were playing at home is something that can probably only happen in this.”
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