Andreas Schjelderup of Benfica scored in the first half to help his team beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in very hot conditions on Tuesday. The result takes the Portuguese side to the top of Group C at the FIFA Club World Cup.
This was Benfica’s first-ever win against Bayern, and it means they will now face either Chelsea or Esperance de Tunis in the last 16. Bayern, who finished second in the group, will play against Group D leaders Flamengo.
“It wasn’t a good first half for us,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told DAZN. “With the heat and the pitch, things didn’t flow as we expected. If you don’t take your chances in football, you suffer. It will be a tough game against Flamengo, but we know we can create chances.”
The only goal of the match came in the 13th minute. Schjelderup finished neatly with his first touch after Fredrik Aursnes delivered a low cross from the right. Bayern’s defence was caught out and paid the price.
With qualification already secured, Bayern rested some key players and lacked urgency. They failed to have a shot on target in the first half.
The German champions looked better in the second half, and Joshua Kimmich thought he had equalised. But his goal was ruled out because Harry Kane was offside in the buildup.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin made some important saves in the closing stages, stopping efforts from Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leroy Sane to keep his team ahead.
“It was a great game against a top team,” said Trubin, who was named man of the match. “It wasn’t just me – the whole team worked hard. The heat was difficult, but we got the job done.”
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