Benfica 6 Auckland City 0: Lage's patience tested as underdogs dig deep

New York Times

4 hours ago

Benfica recorded their first win of the Club World Cup on Friday, beating Auckland City 6-0 in Orlando. But it wasn't an entirely comfortable ride for the Portuguese side.
Auckland, who were beaten 10-0 by Bayern Munich in their first game of the tournament, were much improved on their second outing, frustrating Benfica with a solid defensive structure and an inspired performance from goalkeeper Nathan Garrow.
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After firing 18 shots at the Auckland goal without success, an increasingly-frustrated Benfica finally found a route to goal from the penalty spot in first-half added time. World Cup winner Angel Di Maria converted from 12 yards, sending Garrow the wrong way before calmly passing into the net.
The second-half restart was delayed by more than two hours due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, killing any opportunity for Benfica to carry their momentum into the second period. After the lengthy suspension of play, Auckland came out impressively in the second half, looking to get back on level terms.
However, their hope was short-lived as striker Vangelis Pavlidis added a second in the 54th minute after an impressive moment of individual skill. Renato Sanches added a third from the bench as the floodgates opened. Defeat means the side from New Zealand are unable to qualify for the knockout stages.
The Athletic's Elias Burke analyses the game's key talking points.
While Auckland put up a valiant effort in the first half, the chasm in quality between the sides meant the result was inevitable; for Benfica, it was always a question of how many goals they'd score. Given Bayern's comprehensive margin of victory, they may regret not taking more of their chances.
With Bayern as the considerable favourite to progress as group winners, the number of goals scored against Auckland may be the decisive factor in whether Benfica or Boca Juniors progress as runners-up.
Frustration began to build within the Benfica camp as they struggled to break down the opposition, culminating in head coach Bruno Lage and midfielder Orkun Kokcu having what appeared to be an argument on the sidelines (pictured above) as the latter was substituted on the hour. Even after Barreiro put the result beyond any reasonable doubt with a fourth goal fifteen minutes later, Lage frantically demanded more goals from the sidelines, presumably recognising the importance of goal difference in this group.
Should Boca avoid a big defeat to Bayern, Benfica's relatively modest margin of victory may offer some encouragement. For Lage's side, it may mean they go into the final game needing to draw or win against one of the favourites to lift the trophy on July 13.
After their 10-0 defeat to Bayern last Sunday, you'd be forgiven for expecting Benfica to cut through Auckland's defence with similar ease — but they were much better prepared to frustrate their opponents at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
Auckland are accustomed to being the imposing team and somewhat naively set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation against Bayern Munich, ready to go toe-to-toe with the German champions. Manager Paul Posa learned his lesson against Benfica, switching to 5-2-3, offering goalkeeper Garrow more protection in defence.
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The result will have surprised even the most optimistic Auckland fan. While Benfica frequently got into promising goalscoring positions, Auckland's defence held firm, with Garrow delivering what must have been the most impressive performance of his young career. The 20-year-old made seven saves in the first half, preventing an xG of 0.55 — highlighting the admirable job the outfielders did in limiting Benfica to low-percentage goalscoring opportunities.
There was a fair amount of luck involved, too. When Benfica looked set to convert from close range, forces seemed to conspire against them to ensure a shot landed inches wide of Garrow's post. On the odd occasion, Auckland broke out from their half and threatened to launch a counter-attack. Fans must have dared to dream that those forces would somehow work in their favour to score an unlikely first goal in the tournament.
However, it wasn't to be. Angel Di Maria calmly converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, putting Benfica into a 1-0 lead. Given the chasm in quality, one goal was perhaps unassailable for Auckland, whose highlight of the tournament may be frustrating a European giant for so long.
For Garrow, it was an exhibition of his talent on the world stage. Given his age and the fact his semi-professional contract expires at the end of the year, sporting directors from around Europe and beyond will undoubtedly be assessing his situation on the hunt for a potential bargain.
Auckland City represent the Club World Cup's most unique story.
In a tournament packed with European and South American heritage (as well as the financial strength of Saudi Arabia), Auckland City are an amateur club with a squad of part-time players — some of whom are taking annual leave (P.T.O) to play on the biggest stage of their careers.
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They arrive in the United States as minnows — with their 10-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in their first game illustrating just how large the gulf in class is — but back in their home continent of Oceania, they're the giants. They compete in the New Zealand National League (after qualifying through the regional Northern League), the strongest league in the Oceania Football Confederation, as Australia's professional A-League competition is under the Asian equivalent, and are four-time defending champions.
They qualified for the Club World Cup by lifting the OFC Champions League, a tournament they have won in 12 of the last 15 seasons. In the previous four years, they have beaten teams from Tahiti, Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the final, a far cry from Bayern, Benfica or Boca Juniors — arguably the most famous clubs of their respective major footballing nations.
Still, they're not complete walkovers. Their players returned from the 2014 Club World Cup with bronze medals after beating Liga MX club Cruz Azul in a third-place play-off, though the result in the opening match may rule out any possibility of that happening this time around.
Tuesday, June 24: Bayern Munich, Club World Cup group stage (Charlotte), 3pm ET, 8pm UK
Tuesday, June 24: Boca Juniors, Club World Cup group stage (Nashville), 3pm ET, 8pm UK
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