Benfica secured first place in Group C of the FIFA Club World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, in a match heavily influenced by sweltering temperatures.
The game, which kicked off at 3 p.m. local time with the temperature at 36°C (97°F), was decided by a lone goal from Andreas Schjelderup in the 13th minute. The Norwegian winger finished from 15 yards after Fredrik Aursnes provided an excellent pull-back cross.
The victory means Benfica win the group and will face Group D runners-up Chelsea in the last 16. Bayern Munich, who had already qualified for the knockout stages, finish second and will now play against Group D winners Flamengo of Brazil.
With qualification already assured, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany made seven changes to the side that defeated Boca Juniors last week. However, a lackluster first-half performance prompted a triple substitution at the break, with Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Joshua Kimmich all introduced.
The changes brought more intensity to Bayern’s play. Kimmich appeared to have equalised with a 25-yard strike, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review deemed Kane was obstructing the goalkeeper’s line of sight.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin was a standout performer, making several crucial second-half saves, including impressive stops to deny Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leroy Sane, to preserve his side’s historic first-ever competitive win over the German giants.
The extreme heat was a major talking point, with two official cooling breaks required during the match. Players frequently used wet towels to cool down during the stoppages.
“With the heat, I feared it would not go as fluid as normal and sometimes with the heat it is like this,” Kompany said after the match. “I can’t take anything from the game apart from our performance in the second half. Maybe one positive is we don’t have to play in Charlotte anymore.”
Veteran Benfica midfielder Angel di Maria, who will leave the club after the tournament to rejoin his boyhood team Rosario Central in Argentina, was instrumental in the move that led to the winning goal and received a warm reception from the fans upon his substitution.
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