Boca Juniors turn up the heat in Miami with Benfica draw
MIAMI: After Lionel Messi lit up the Club World Cup opener, Miami's Hard Rock Stadium was awash in Argentine passion again as Boca Juniors fans turned it into a little Buenos Aires for their team's 2-2 draw with Benfica on Monday.
A day after draping the shores of Miami Beach in blue and gold on the eve of their team's debut, the Boca fans chanted their way into the arena and through the game, which put them in second place in Group C behind Bayern Munich after the German champions demolished Auckland City 10-0 on Sunday.
Both teams finished with 10 men after Benfica's Andrea Bellotti and Boca's Nicolas Figal picked up straight red cards in a heated contest that saw the Portuguese team cancel out a two-goal deficit.
Boca next face Bayern on Friday in Miami while Benfica will face Auckland City in Orlando, FL.
After a scrappy opening 20 minutes, the stands trembled when Boca went ahead in the 21st as Lautaro Blanco's low cross was met by Miguel Merentiel, triggering wild celebrations.
Six minutes later, the Argentine side doubled the tally with a Rodrigo Battaglia header, stunning Benfica, who had been dominating from the onset.
Nicolas Otamendi was then brought down in the box and Benfica earned a penalty following a VAR review and Di Maria coolly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to cut the goal deficit down to one at the stroke of halftime.
Benfica were down to 10 in the 70th after Bellotti was shown a straight red card for a high kick in the back of the head of Ayrton Costa.
The Portuguese side, however, levelled six minutes from time when Otamendi found the back of the net with a powerful header.
The result kept the six-time Copa Libertadores champions' hopes alive to advance into the knockout phase, which would be a boost for the tournament as South American fans are expected to bring the biggest amount of passion into the stadiums.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
16 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Jorginho debuts as Flamengo defeat Esperance in Club World Cup opener ahead of Chelsea showdown
PHILADELPHIA, June 17 — Brazilian giants Flamengo set themselves up for a Club World Cup showdown with Chelsea by easing to a 2-0 win against Esperance of Tunisia in their opening game at the tournament on Monday. Goals either side of half time from Uruguayan international Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Luiz Araujo gave a dominant Flamengo — coached by former Chelsea player Filipe Luis — a deserved victory in the Group D clash in Philadelphia. Flamengo, who qualified for the tournament as a recent winner of the Copa Libertadores, fielded a strong side featuring several Brazil internationals and gave a debut to Italy midfielder Jorginho following his recent arrival from Arsenal. Jorginho will come up against former club Chelsea when the teams meet in their second match on Friday, with the Premier League club fresh from beating Los Angeles FC 2-0 earlier Monday. De Arrascaeta opened the scoring for the Rio de Janeiro outfit in the 17th minute at Lincoln Financial Field when he finished first time from a Luiz Araujo assist. That set off wild celebrations among the Flamengo fans, who made up the majority of the 25,797 crowd in a stadium which can hold close to 70,000. Flamengo had chances to increase their lead while Tunisian champions Esperance created little of note before their Algerian winger Youcef Belaili almost equalised midway through the second half. Shortly after that Flamengo scored again, as Luiz Araujo found a pocket of space in the box in the 70th minute, turned and curled a low shot into the far corner to make it 2-0. — AFP
The Star
17 minutes ago
- The Star
Soccer-Atmosphere for Chelsea's Club World Cup opener a bit strange, says Maresca
Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group D - Chelsea v Los Angeles FC - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. - June 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca reacts REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (Reuters) -Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said the atmosphere at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was "a bit strange" as his side began their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in front of swathes of empty seats. The multi-purpose stadium has a 71,000 capacity but Monday's group stage match, which kicked-off at 3 p.m., attracted little over 22,000 spectators. Atlanta is over 2,000 miles (3,220 km) away from Los Angeles, where Major League Soccer club LAFC are based. "It was a good match, a good performance," Maresca told reporters. "I think the environment was a bit strange. The stadium was almost empty. Not full." The Italian expected more fans to be in attendance when they take on Brazilian side Flamengo at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Friday. "We prepared for this game also thinking that the environment was a bit different," Maresca said. "But no doubt that the next one will be a nice one because we know that the Brazilian team, they always bring many, many fans. So we will try to be ready for the next one." Maresca was asked about what impact he expects from forward Liam Delap, who joined the club for around 30 million pounds from Ipswich Town ($40.73 million) on a six-year deal. Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu are already options for the number nine shirt at Chelsea but the 22-year-old Englishman wasted no time in showcasing his potential, setting up Enzo Fernandez for their second goal on Monday. "I am curious to see how Nico reacts (to Delap)," said Maresca. "He competed with Guiu, who is very young, during the season. They are both good number nines." Chelsea are level with Flamengo at the top of the group after the Brazilians beat Esperance de Tunis 2-0. ($1 = 0.7366 pounds) (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Flamengo's impressive Club World Cup start sets up mouth-watering Chelsea showdown
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group D - Flamengo v Esperance Sportive de Tunis - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. - June 16, 2025 Flamengo's Leo Pereira in action IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Kyle Ross/File Photo PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -Flamengo's dominant 2-0 victory over Esperance de Tunis on Monday will have caught the attention of Group D favourites Chelsea, and suggests the Brazilian side could have a significant impact at FIFA's revamped tournament. The Brazilian Cup champions next face Chelsea, who beat MLS side LAFC 2-0 earlier in the day, in a mouth-watering clash at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field on Friday that should determine the group winner. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: It has been over a decade since a European team lost at the Club World Cup but the ease with which Flamengo dispensed with Esperance will give them confidence they can end that run when they face Chelsea on Friday. The London side were the last European team to taste defeat at the tournament, losing to Corinthians in the 2012 final, but since then the continent's clubs are undefeated in 27 matches. Palmeiras and Boca Juniors came close to wins over Porto and Benfica in their openers at the current edition, and South American sides have six games left against European opposition in the group stage to break their stranglehold. Flamengo are unbeaten in over a month and lead the Brazilian league playing a solid brand of football under the calm guidance of former Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis. KEY QUOTES: Flamengo midfielder Jorginho: "We enjoyed the goal, and the fans were amazing, as I've seen before but now I'm living it. The most important thing is the performance that we did. I think we controlled the game, we played well and we deserved the win, I think that was the most important thing for us. "It felt really good, because we have great players who understand the game, I feel that we can understand each other very quickly, and it's going to be a good bond with the group and everything, so we just need to keep working together and move forward." Flamengo manager Filipe Luis: "At the beginning we managed to control the game with possession, then after the first goal we slowed down a bit and that cost us a bit of time with the ball. But in the second half we managed to score the second goal and a great win, three points. Now we have to face the next chapter for this group, Chelsea is a difficult team, but very happy with the win." (Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
