Monterrey 1 Inter 1 - Sergio Ramos is everything you remember

Sergio Ramos rolled back the years to help Mexican side Monterrey draw with European Champions League finalists Inter in their opening Club World Cup game.

Five-time Concacaf Champions League winners Monterrey took the lead after 25 minutes when Ramos, the 39-year-old former Real Madrid defender, lost his marker and out-jumped two Inter defenders to head in the opening goal.

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A clever clipped free kick from Kristjan Asllani set up Inter’s equaliser, with Lautaro Martinez finishing after the ball was played back across the box on 42 minutes.

In the second half, Sergio Canales, the former Real Sociedad and Real Betis playmaker, struck the post from 30 yards, with Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer beaten. Martinez had a fine finish ruled out soon after when he strayed offside. The Inter captain fired over another chance and in an entertaining finish, Nelson Deossa had the chance to win for Monterrey — but shot into the side-netting.

In the other game in Group E on Tuesday, River Plate beat Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1, with the next round taking place on Saturday when Inter play Urawa of Japan and Monterrey take on River Plate of Argentina.

Here, Jack Lang analyses the key talking points from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Has Sergio Ramos lost any of his swagger?

Some players just call it a day, collapse into the warm embrace of retirement. Others go to Saudi Arabia or Qatar for a pay cheque. Some choose MLS: an adventure, but a relatively sanitised one.

Sergio Ramos didn’t go for any of those options when he ran out of road at the top level of European football. He followed in the footsteps of a few like-minded rebels — Andre-Pierre Gignac, Ravel Morrison — and went to Mexico. Ramos is more of a fighter than a lover, but you couldn’t deny the romance of the move.

The four intervening months have done nothing to dim Ramos’ dazzling main-character energy. He is Monterrey’s captain — of course he is — and, judging by the reception he received before kick-off, already a firm fan favourite. He still plays with the same imperious swagger, too. He spent the opening stages here strutting around the place like a bad boy royal at his own house party.

When he was called into action, the old reflexes kicked in. He nipped the ball away from Martinez after a piercing Alessandro Bastoni diagonal, charged down Sebastiano Esposito’s shot on the edge of the area. In possession, he set the tone with his measured distribution.

Ramos heads in a goal he celebrated with relish (Omar Vega/Getty Images)

Ramos, though, has always been as much an attacking joker card as a defensive rock. So it was here. He seemed to be outnumbered when his old Sevilla team mate Oliver Torres swung a corner towards the far post with 24 minutes on the clock. But Ramos wriggled free of Francesco Acerbi, towered above Benjamin Pavard and planted a firm header into the corner of the net.

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The celebrations were demure. Only kidding: Ramos milked the moment for all it was worth. Rightly so, too.

Was this a perfect display? Not really. He was caught out for Martinez’s goal and looked a bit leggy as the game wore on. Monterrey, though, held on. And Ramos walked off as man of the match with the cameras following him — just as he likes it, just like it ever was.

Are Chivu’s Inter different to Inzaghi’s Inter?

Even going by his comments before this match, it was clear that new Inter coach Cristian Chivu was not going in for the Orange Juice approach to transition management. Rip it up and start again? Not so much. Chivu painted himself as a continuity candidate, pure and simple. “I told the boys that the path they have taken to this point is important,” he said at the weekend.

On the field, the new Inter looked a lot like the old Inter. They lined up in Simone Inzaghi’s old 3-5-2 formation. Seven of the players who started the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain were in the XI here. Inter have begun to refresh their squad with the signings of Luis Henrique and Petar Sucic, but neither was included from the beginning here.

Chivu has positioned himself as the continuity candidate (Sean M Haffey/FIFA via Getty Images)

There is no criticism implied here. Inzaghi did a brilliant job at Inter; there is no shame in wanting to build on his work. The system suits the players. It would have been foolhardy for Chivu — a relative novice at this level — to have rung the changes.

In the event, they played fairly well. The midfield wove some nice patterns and repeatedly manufactured crossing positions for Carlos Augusto down the left. Their equaliser was well worked. They had chances to win the match in the last 20 minutes.

Really, Chivu’s main task does not relate to tactics. He has to re-energise these players, lift them back up again after a long season, after what happened against PSG. It won’t happen instantly. This, though, was an acceptable first staging post.

Looking for a soundtrack to your summer?

This isn’t strictly about the game, but I feel obliged to inform you that Monterrey’s club anthem is a stone-cold banger. I mean this entirely unironically. They played it in the stadium, around 15 minutes before kick-off, and it lifted my mood.

I haven’t looked up the words to the verses. You can if you like; I don’t want to ruin it because, let’s face it, lyrics always look worse written down. But the refrain — “Arriba, el Monterrey! Arriba, el Monterrey! Arriba, el Monterrey!” — is perfection. There’s also an absolute gut-punch of a key change for the final push. Amazing.

Is there a bigger-picture conclusion to be drawn here? Something starry-eyed about the joy of tournament football — the novelty, the discovery, the cross-pollination? Maybe. But maybe it’s just a great song, and maybe that’s enough.

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(Top photo: Getty Images)

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