Keepers steal the show as Inter Miami and Al Ahly draw thrilling CWC opener
Agencies
The storied Egyptian side and Major League Soccer powerhouse kicked off the the FIFA Club World Cup with an action-packed 0-0 draw at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday.
While all eyes pre-match were on Lionel Messi, it was the goalkeepers who starred for both clubs.
In the first half, Inter Miami survived waves of Al Ahly pressure thanks to keeper Oscar Ustari, who made five saves to keep the Herons level at half-time.
Ustari's biggest save came in the 43rd minute. Zizo won a penalty after being taken down in the box by Telasco Segovia, but Ustari guessed correctly on Trezeguet's spot-kick, diving to his right to make the two-handed block.
Al Ahly needed the steady hands of goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy to escape an equally lively second half.
In the 51st minute, Tadeo Allende pounced on a loose ball in the box but saw his left-footed shot smothered by El Shenawy. The Al Ahly keeper came up big late, turning away Fafa Picault's close-range header in the 85th minute and making two more saves in stoppage time, including a leaping stop on Lionel Messi's long-range curler that was headed for the top corner.
Javier Mascherano, Inter Miami head coach said, '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.
' 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.'
Jose Riveiro, Al Ahly head coach 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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