The Club World Cup continued in full force on Friday, with a number of exciting results. Group stage play for Group C and D put Bayern Munich and Flamengo in strong position for the knockout round heading into the final game next week.
After a decisive win over Auckland City for Benfica, Boca Juniors nearly completed a comeback against Bayern Munich to continue South America’s hot streak this tournament, but the German club came back to retake the lead.
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Meanwhile, in Group D, Flamengo pulled off a stunning upset over Chelsea, completing a comeback after going down 1-0 early. Then ES Tunis picked up an unexpected win over LAFC, eliminating the MLS squad from the knockout round.
After an hour-long weather delay in Orlando, Benfica flooded Auckland City with goals to secure a 6-0 win. Though Auckland City held Benfica scoreless for most of the first half, Angel Di Maria’s stoppage time goal right before halftime gave his side the 1-0 lead before the delay. In the second half, they slotted five more past the Northern League side. Vangelis Pavlidis and Renato Sanches found the net in the 53rd and 63rd minute before Leandro Berreiro had back-to-back goals in the 76th and 78th. Di Maria put the exclamation on the beatdown with another penalty in added time after 90 minutes.
Chelsea, coming off a 2-0 win over LAFC in the opener, couldn’t stay hot in its second match against Brazilian side Flamengo. While Pedro Neto’s 13th-minute goal placed the Blues ahead at the half, Flamengo came flying back with goals from Bruno Henrique in the 62nd minute, Danilo in the 65th and Wallace Yan in the 83rd. Flamengo now leads Group D with two wins and six points.
Espérance Sportive de Tunis kept the tournament on its toes with a 1-0 win over LAFC, stunning the MLS giants with a goal in the 70th minute. ES Tunis midfielder Youcef Belaïli broke the 0-0 stalemate by sliding a ball past LAFC keeper Hugo Lloris. Though LAFC continued to fight back, they couldn’t find the equalizer. Then, well into stoppage time, LAFC seemed to have an ironclad chance to tie it after being awarded a penalty kick. But Denis Bouanga’s shot was expertly saved by keeper Bechir Ben Said to earn ES Tunis a key group stage win.
Boca Juniors did their best to keep the tournament’s South American dominance alive, but Bayern Munich picked up the win. Bayern struck first with a goal in the 18th minute from English captain Harry Kane, who scored his first goal of the tournament (despite Bayern’s 10-0 win over Auckland City on Sunday). In the 66th minute, Boca broke through with a goal from striker Miguel Merentiel. But then Bayern took back the lead in the 84th, as winger Michael Olise put Bayern back ahead. The German club took the win to stay at the top of Group C.
Rank
Group C
Record (W-D-L)
Goal Differential
Points
1
Bayern Munich
2-0-0
11
6
2
Benfica
1-1-0
6
4
3
Boca Juniors
0-1-1
-1
1
4
Auckland City
0-0-2
-16
0
Rank
Group D
Record (W-D-L)
Goal Differential
Points
1
Flamengo
2-0-0
4
6
2
Chelsea
1-0-1
0
3
3
ES Tunis
1-0-1
-1
3
4
LAFC
0-0-2
-3
0
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Dortmund at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati; 12 p.m. ET on DAZN
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Group E: Inter Milan vs. Urawa Reds at Lumen Field in Seattle; 3 p.m. ET on DAZN
Group F: Fluminense vs. Ulsan at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford; 6 p.m. ET on DAZN
Group E: River Plate vs. Monterrey at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena; 9 p.m. ET on DAZN/TBS/truTV
