Angel Di Maria Leads Benfica Past Auckland City 6-0 in Club World Cup
Ángel Di María and Leandro Barreiro each scored two goals Friday to help Benfica rout Auckland City 6–0 in a Club World Cup game that was delayed at halftime because of thunder and lightning.
Di María, who teamed with Lionel Messi to win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, scored his first goal from the penalty spot deep into added time at the end of the first half. His second score, and the team's sixth, was again from the penalty spot and deep in added time at the end of the match.
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Auckland City exchanged counterattacks with the Portuguese powerhouse in the first half of the Group C match but was still outshot 18–1. The second half went Benfica's way. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2–0 in the 53rd minute. Renato Sanches added a third a short time later, and Barreiro then scored a pair of goals to increase the lead to 5–0.
A thunderstorm delayed the start of the second half for more than two hours. When the match resumed, the goals came pouring in for Benfica.
Key moment: Auckland midfielder Tong Zhou went down with an apparent head injury just before halftime. Trainers attended to Zhou on the field, and Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras complained about the delay. He was given a yellow card after a spat with game officials.
Takeaways: With the win, Benfica has four points in Group C. Bayern Munich, which beat Auckland City 10–0 in its opening match, plays Boca Juniors later Friday in Miami Gardens.
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