This was the dawn of a new era for Real in Miami, with Xabi Alonso making his debut in the dugout, while Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold were making their first outings in the famous all-white strip.
It has also been a summer of change for Al Hilal, with former Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi taking charge for the first time.
The Italian would have been encouraged by his side’s start, as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s shot was tipped behind by Thibaut Courtois.
Real had yet to wake up, and the Saudi Pro League side spurned a golden opportunity when Marcos Leonardo fired wide from Salem Al Dawsari’s cut-back.
It looked like former Atlético Madrid man Renan Lodi had given the Riyadh outfit the lead with a clinical finish, but Real's blushes were spared by the linesman's flag.
Alonso’s team were on the ropes, and they were fortunate not to go a goal down when Hassan Tambakti headed wide from a Ruben Neves corner.
However, Real took the lead against the run of play at the end of a blistering break when Gonzalo Garcia scuffed home a finish past Yassine Bounou from Rodrygo’s sublime ball across the box.
But Al Hilal deservedly restored parity before half-time when Raul Asencio was penalised for hauling down Leonardo, allowing Neves to convert from the spot.
That proved to be Asencio's final and damning act of the match, with Alonso electing to bring on Arda Guler for the start of the second half.
The Turkish starlet almost had an immediate impact when he was spotted by Vinicius Junior, rifling his strike onto the crossbar. Vinicius then teed up Garcia with a teasing cross, but the latter was denied by Bono.
However, just when it looked like Al Hilal had done enough, referee Facundo Tello pointed to the spot following a lengthy VAR review, penalising Mohammed Al Qahtani for a raised hand against Fran Garcia.
It looked like Real would steal the points at the death, but Bono made a superb save to deny Federico Valverde, handing the Blue Waves a well-deserved share of the spoils.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)
See all the match stats with Flashscore.
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