PASADENA:
Sergio Ramos scored as Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Mexican side Monterrey in their FIFA Club World Cup Group E opening game here at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Tuesday.
It was underdogs Monterrey who struck first, through 39-year-old defender Ramos, who leapt above two defenders to power home a header from a corner in the 25th minute.
Inter levelled it late in the first half when Lautaro Martinez scored on Kristjan Asllani’s free-kick assisted by Carlos Augusto in the box.
Nelson Deossa had a chance to win it for Monterrey in stoppage time but his shot ended up in the side netting.
Inter’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan said that they had chances which they failed to convert.
“I think we could have scored a second goal, which we didn’t unfortunately,” Mkhitaryan said.
“But this is football, we have to work hard, we have to do our best to win the next games because it’s a new competition and the teams are very motivated to get out of the group stage.
“I think we have to be more aggressive in front of goal, we need to score more goals. Even today we had chances which we didn’t score, unfortunately.”
Both team’s managers were debuting in the first competitive meeting between the sides.
Cristian Chivu took over from Simone Inzaghi at Inter Milan shortly after their crushing 5-0 Champions League final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, while Spaniard Domenec Torrent was brought in at Monterrey after their disappointing start to the season.
Meanwhile, River Plate started their Club World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds, with goals from Facundo Colidio, Sebastian Driussi and Maxi Meza.
Furthermore, South African club Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. defeated Ulsan Hyundai 1-0 in a Group F encounter, thanks to a goal from Iqraam Rayner.