Philadelphia (AFP) – Benfica beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in searing heat at the Club World Cup on Tuesday to progress to the last 16 as group winners, while minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors. Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal of the Group C clash for Benfica in front of 33,287 fans in Charlotte, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute.
The German champions, who left the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench at kick-off, were unable to come back in sweltering afternoon conditions in heatwave-hit North Carolina. Kane and Olise came on at half-time and Bayern did then look more dangerous, but Leroy Sane was denied when clean through by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the section, but a Kimmich effort that found the net was ruled out for offside and Trubin denied Sane again while Kane mistimed a header from close range late on.
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It was Benfica’s first ever win in 14 competitive meetings with the Bavarian side and it means they finish first in the group and so will play the Group D runners-up — either Chelsea or Esperance — in Charlotte in the last 16 on Saturday. “I think this was a very fair and important win, historic really,” said Benfica coach Bruno Lage. “We were as straightforward and assertive as we should be and I think we were very effective in delivering our strategy today.”
Bayern finished second and so will go to Miami on Sunday to take on Brazilian giants Flamengo, with a potential quarter-final against European champions Paris Saint-Germain awaiting. “You could see that it was really tough conditions so respect to both teams for that,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. “Our first half was not good enough for sure, the second half was definitely more the level that we expected and good enough to score one or two or three goals.”
– Another weather delay –
That result meant whatever Boca did against Auckland City in Nashville would not be enough to qualify, but the Argentine giants were still expected to do better than draw 1-1 against the tournament minnows from New Zealand. Auckland had lost 10-0 to Bayern and 6-0 to Benfica but this time they recovered from falling behind in the first half when goalkeeper Nathan Garrow palmed a Lautaro Di Lollo header into his own net. Christian Gray equalised with a header in the second half to earn the sole representatives from Oceania a remarkable point.
“You can’t say we haven’t learned from the experience of being at the tournament, I’m thrilled for the players and the club, it’s wonderful. It’s something to go home with,” said City coach Paul Posa. Posa said it was a great result for football in Oceania. “I think it’s restored a little bit of pride, a little bit of reputation for us,” he added. “We’re a tiny club with a huge heart and that’s evident for all to see.”
– Chelsea eye last 16 –
The game was the fifth so far at the tournament to be suspended due to a weather warning, with play stopping for almost an hour — when the action restarted not a drop of rain had fallen at Geodis Park. Chelsea faced Tunisian champions Esperance later at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with the Premier League side needing only a draw to confirm their place in the next round from Group D. Flamengo, already assured of top spot in the section, faced eliminated Los Angeles FC at the same time in Orlando.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation into Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral after allegations he made a racist comment to Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger. The incident came towards the end of Sunday’s game between the two teams which Real won 3-1. Rudiger was visibly angered following an exchange of words with Argentine Cabral and spoke to the referee. Cabral denied he had racially abused the German centre-back.
© 2024 AFP
