Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 victory over Tunisia’s Esperance on Tuesday, setting up a Club World Cup last-16 clash with Benfica, who edged Bayern Munich 1-0 earlier in scorching heat.
In other action, underdogs Auckland City secured a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles FC bowed out with a goalless stalemate against Flamengo.
In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup netted the lone goal for Benfica in their Group C showdown with Bayern before 33,287 fans, expertly finishing a cutback from fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute.
Bayern, who started with stars like Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench, struggled to respond under the sweltering North Carolina heatwave.
Kane and Olise entered at halftime, injecting urgency, but despite Bayern looking more threatening, Leroy Sane was denied by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin when clean through.
A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the section, but a Joshua Kimmich effort that found the net was ruled out for offside, and Trubin denied Sane again while Kane mistimed a header late on.
It was Benfica’s first-ever win in 14 competitive meetings with Bayern, and it meant they finished first and will next play Group D runners-up Chelsea 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 will go to Miami on Sunday to take on Brazilian giants Flamengo, with a potential quarterfinal 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 equalized 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.
“We’re a tiny club with a huge heart, and that’s evident for all to see.”
Delap off the mark
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 eased through to their meeting with Benfica with a clinical 3-0 win over Esperance at Lincoln Financial Field in Group D in Philadelphia.
New signing Liam Delap opened his account for the club with a deftly taken finish in stoppage time at the end of the first half, just moments after Tosin Adarabioyo had headed the Blues in front.
Teenage talent Tyrique George added Chelsea’s third deep into injury time at the end of the game with a low shot that crept under Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.
Flamengo, who had already assured themselves of top spot in the section after wins over Chelsea and Esperance, wrapped up their first-round campaign with a 1-1 draw against already-eliminated Los Angeles FC in Orlando.
Los Angeles forward Denis Bouanga threatened to give the MLS side an upset win in their final game of the tournament after a cool finish in the 84th minute, only for Wallace Yan to equalize for Flamengo two minutes later.
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 Rüdiger.
The incident came toward the end of Sunday’s game between the two teams, which Real won 3-1.
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