Benfica‘s Andreas Schjelderup struck in the first half to seal a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in sweltering heat on Tuesday, sending the Portuguese side to the top of Group C at the Club World Cup.
After securing their first-ever victory over Bayern, Benfica will face Chelsea or Esperance de Tunis in the last 16. Bayern, finishing second, are set to face Group D leaders Flamengo.
“I think our first half wasn’t good at all. With the pitch and the heat, I just feared this wouldn’t go as fluid as normal,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told DAZN.
“It’s football. If you have chances and don’t take them, you pay the price… [against Flamengo] it’s going to be a tough game. We know we can create chances.”
Schjelderup broke the deadlock after 13 minutes with a first-time finish off Fredrik Aursnes‘ low cross from the right, capitalising on a lapse in Bayern’s backline.
With Bayern already assured of a place in the next round, their rotated lineup lacked urgency. The Germans improved after the break and Joshua Kimmich thought he had equalised, but his effort was ruled out for Harry Kane being offside.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin played a key role in preserving the lead, producing sharp saves to deny Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leroy Sané.
“It was a good game against an amazing team, it was not only me, it was the whole team,” said Trubin, who was named man of the match. “It was extremely hot, but we did our job.”
