Club World Cup: Benfica beat Bayern to top group as both progress

Benfica beat Bayern Munich to progress into the Club World Cup last 16 as Group C winners amid sweltering temperatures in the United States.

The match began at 3 pm local time (20:00 BST) at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the temperature at 36 °C – and both sides were far from their best in the tough conditions.

Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal in the 13th minute, with a low finish from 15 yards out after Fredrik Aursnes had done well and pulled the ball back into his path.

Victory means Portugal’s Benfica will play the Group D runners-up, which will be Chelsea, as long as Enzo Maresca’s side avoid defeat against Tunisian outfit ES Tunis in their match on Wednesday (02:00 BST).

Bayern had already qualified and boss Vincent Kompany made seven changes from the side that beat Argentina’s Boca Juniors 2-1 on Friday.

However, he brought on England captain Harry Kane, ex-Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise and Germany international Joshua Kimmich in a triple substitution at half-time in an attempt to get back into the match.

Kimmich thought he had equalised for the German side with a low 25-yard strike, but the goal was ruled out for offside, with Kane deemed to be obstructing the view of goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

Bayern were the better team in the second half as Aleksandar Pavlovic had an effort saved and Leroy Sane missed two late opportunities, but they could not find an equaliser and had to settle for second place in the group.

What was the main talking point?

One of the main issues facing the month-long tournament has been the temperatures the players are having to play in.

At the 30-minute mark, there was a near-three-minute cooling break, with players from both sides heading to the dugouts to get some shade, while some wrapped a cold towel around their heads and others poured water on themselves.

There was a second cooling break after 23 minutes of the second half and Kompany said he had been worried about the conditions.

“With the heat I feared it would not go as fluid as normal and sometimes with the heat it is like this,” said the former Manchester City defender. “I can’t take anything from the game apart from our performance in the second half. Maybe one positive is we don’t have to play in Charlotte anymore.”

Which players stood out?

Trubin was excellent in the second half and was a large reason Benfica held on for the win.

He made a superb reflex save from Pavlovic and then denied Sane when the Germany forward had been through with only the goalkeper to beat.

Former Manchester United midfielder Angel di Maria will be leaving Benfica at the end of this tournament and will return to his boyhood club Rosario Central in Argentina.

But the 37-year-old was a key figure for Benfica, starting the move which resulted in their goal and he received a superb reception from his side’s fans when he came off late on in the second half.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.