Chelsea Advance to Club World Cup Knockouts

AFP/APP

Philadelphia: Chelsea beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 on Tuesday to set up a Club World Cup last-16 tie against Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 earlier in searing heat.

Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles FC bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo.

Benfica Shock Bayern

In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute.

The German champions, who left the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench at kick-off, were unable to come back in sweltering conditions in heatwave-hit North Carolina.

Kane and Olise came on at half-time and Bayern looked more dangerous. However, Leroy Sane was denied when clean through by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the group, but a Kimmich effort that found the net was ruled out for offside. Trubin denied Sane again and Kane mistimed a header late on.

It was Benfica’s first ever win in 14 competitive meetings with Bayern.

They finished first and will now face Group D runners-up Chelsea in Charlotte in the last 16 on Saturday.

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“I think this was a very fair and important win, historic really,” said Benfica coach Bruno Lage.
“We were as straightforward and assertive as we should be and I think we were very effective in delivering our strategy today.”

Bayern, finishing second, will travel to Miami on Sunday to take on Flamengo, with a potential quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain awaiting.

“You could see that it was really tough conditions so respect to both teams for that,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
“Our first half was not good enough for sure, the second half was definitely more the level we expected.”

Auckland City’s Fairytale Moment

That result meant whatever Boca Juniors did against Auckland City in Nashville would not be enough to qualify.

Yet, the Argentine giants were still expected to do better than draw 1-1 against the tournament minnows from New Zealand.

Auckland had previously lost 10-0 to Bayern and 6-0 to Benfica, but this time they recovered after falling behind when goalkeeper Nathan Garrow palmed a Lautaro Di Lollo header into his own net.

Christian Gray equalised with a header in the second half to earn Oceania’s sole representatives a remarkable point.

“You can’t say we haven’t learned from this experience,” said Auckland coach Paul Posa.
“We’re a tiny club with a huge heart and that’s evident for all to see.”

Chelsea Cruise Past Esperance

The game in Nashville was the fifth at the tournament to be suspended due to a weather warning, with play stopping for almost an hour. When the action restarted, not a drop of rain had fallen.

Meanwhile, Chelsea eased through to their meeting with Benfica after a clinical 3-0 win over Esperance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

• New signing Liam Delap opened his account with a deft finish in first-half stoppage time, moments after Tosin Adarabioyo headed Chelsea in front.
• Teenage talent Tyrique George added Chelsea’s third deep into injury time with a low shot that slipped under goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

Flamengo and LAFC Share Spoils

Flamengo, already assured of top spot after beating both Chelsea and Esperance, wrapped up their group campaign with a 1-1 draw against LAFC in Orlando.

• Denis Bouanga gave LAFC a late lead in the 84th minute.
• Wallace Yan equalised just two minutes later for Flamengo.

FIFA Opens Racism Inquiry

Also on Tuesday, FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation into Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral following allegations he made a racist comment to Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger.

The incident occurred towards the end of Sunday’s game, which Real Madrid won 3-1.