Bayern overcome battling Boca to book Club World Cup last 16

Kuwait Times

12 hours ago

Benfica knock out Auckland in delayed Club World Cup romp
MIAMI GARDENS: Bayern Munich booked their place in the knockout stages of the Club World Cup with Harry Kane and Michael Olise on target in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Argentina's Boca Juniors on Friday. Kane's strike gave the German champions the lead only for Miguel Merentiel to equalize, but Olise popped up with a late winner. After defeats for Paris Saint-Germain against Botofogo and Chelsea against Flamengo, Bayern bucked the trend of European teams falling to South American opponents with an accomplished victory in the Group C encounter.
'It was a big performance from the guys, we knew it wasn't going to be easy, coming into a hostile environment with hot weather. In the first half we should have been two or three up then in the second they put us under a bit of pressure,' said Kane. 'They got the momentum but once they scored we shifted it back in our direction,' added the England forward. Hard Rock Stadium was packed to the rafters with Boca fans who once again brought incredible passion and noise to the NFL stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins.
But Bayern set about quieting the 63,587 crowd with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka taking charge of midfield and the movement of Bayern's frontline stretching the Boca defense. The German side thought they had the lead in the eighth minute when a corner from Olise passed untouched through a crowded six-yard box and into the net. But the referee was called to the monitor for a VAR review where he was able to clearly see that Serge Gnabry had blocked and tangled with Boca goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin, and the effort was ruled out.
Ten minutes later, however, Bayern had the breakthrough when Boca were unable to fully clear a ball into the box and Kane pounced with a clinical left-foot shot into the bottom corner. Bayern smelled blood and pushed for a second - Olise found Gnabry on the right and his low ball across goal was just inches away from the sliding Kingsley Coman. Boca desperately needed to find a foothold in the game and they came close when a thundering free-kick from Kevin Zenon was punched out by Manuel Neuer. Moments later Zenon tested the Bayern keeper again with another fierce strike which Neuer punched away.
Olise's decisive blow
But for all the signs of life from Boca, Bayern looked in control of the game and Kane was close to making it 2-0 with a dangerous free-kick which dipped just too late and flashed over the bar. Bayern continued to look for a second after the interval and the busy Olise should have done better from close range but couldn't connect properly with an off-balance shot. Boca never gave up harrying and grafting though and their reward came in the 66th minute. On a turnover in midfield, Alan Velasco found Miguel Merentiel down the right and he powered goalwards, skipping around Josip Stanisic before producing a brilliant, confident finish past the helpless Neuer.
It looked like South American clubs' unbeaten record in the tournament was going to hold, but with six minutes remaining Olise provided the decisive blow. After a scramble on the edge of the box, Kane found the France international with a delicate lay-off and Olise provided precision control with a superb side-foot finish into the corner. Konrad Laimer thought he had wrapped up the win with a third moments later but he was ruled offside. Boca keeper Marchesin said the game had shown the level that the Argentine giants needed to maintain.
'We're leaving with a lot of sadness, a lot of disappointment, but excited about what's to come. I think this is how we have to approach matches, with this seriousness, with this mentality that is what Boca is all about, what Boca needs, and hopefully we can continue on this path,' he said. It was the first loss for a South American side in the competition and it leaves Boca with just one point before their final group game. Bayern have the maximum six points after crushing Auckland City 10-0 in their opening game with Portugal's Benfica in second place on four points.
Auckland knocked out
Meanwhile, Benfica sailed to a 6-0 win to eliminate Auckland City from the Club World Cup on Friday in Orlando in a match which suffered a long weather delay, with Angel Di Maria netting two penalties. With the Portuguese side leading by a goal at half-time the match was suspended because of a storm, eventually resuming two hours later. 'This is the longest game of my career, a special thanks to our fans, who have been here for five hours supporting the team,' said Benfica coach Bruno Lage. 'We played as well as we could. The (hot) temperature made it very difficult.'
Auckland of New Zealand, the only Oceania Football Confederation representatives at the tournament, were thrashed 10-0 by Bayern Munich in their Group C opener and this defeat sealed their fate. Despite their eventual collapse, Auckland battled hard in the first half and almost made it to the break unscathed. Auckland goalkeeper Nathan Garrow made several good saves to keep Benfica at bay and the Portuguese side grew frustrated. — AFP