Bayern München has narrowly defeated Boca Juniors at the Club World Cup on Friday evening. The score was 2-1 at the Hard Rock Stadium, where Boca was cheered on by tens of thousands of boisterous fans.
Harry Kane opened the scoring in Miami in the eighteenth minute. The Englishman got a deflected ball at his feet and shot diagonally into the net with his left foot.
After more than an hour, Boca equalized in a beautiful way via Miguel Merentiel. Merentiel first outpaced Jonathan Tah and then easily outplayed Josip Stanisic. He was one-on-one with Manuel Neuer and Merentiel passed the German goalkeeper with a controlled shot.
Bayern scored the winning goal in the 84th minute, via Michael Olise. He got the ball at his feet through a scramble and shot from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot.
Through to the last sixteen
Due to the victory, Bayern reached the last sixteen of the Club World Cup. The German champion started the tournament with a 10-0 victory over New Zealand’s Auckland City.
Boca still has a chance to reach the next round. In the first match, it was 2-2 against Benfica, and in the last matchday, they will face Auckland. The Argentinians must hope for a victory by Bayern over Benfica, who were too strong for Auckland in the second group match, winning 6-0.
With the victory, Bayern brought a success to the European club again. In recent days, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were defeated by Brazilian clubs, Botafogo and Flamengo, respectively.
Hurricane of sound
While at some group matches a part of the stadium was largely empty, the full Hard Rock Stadium was a hurricane of sound. The fanatical Boca fans had traveled to Miami in large numbers and made themselves heard. Many Argentinians also live in Miami and the surrounding area.
There were about 64,000 spectators in Miami, including many South Americans. The Hard Rock Stadium is home to the NFL club Miami Dolphins. The stadium also hosts a major tennis tournament and the Miami Grand Prix is held at the complex.