Auckland City of New Zealand suffered another heavy defeat at the Club World Cup on Friday. After the 10-0 against Bayern Munich, it was 6-0 against Benfica, in a match that had to be interrupted for no less than 2.5 hours.
Although the Portuguese had many chances before half-time, Auckland City seemed to reach half-time with 0-0. Just before half-time, things went wrong. After a foul by Haris Ali Zeb on Gianluca Prestianni, the ball went to the penalty spot. Ángel Di María showed no mercy and slotted in the 1-0.
After that, both teams went to the dressing room for half-time, which eventually lasted 2.5 hours. Due to heavy rainfall in Florida, the match had to be interrupted – not for the first time at this Club World Cup.
When the match could still be resumed, Vangelis Pavlidis showed himself. The former Eredivisie top scorer played himself free in the penalty area and gave keeper Nathan Kyle Garrow no chance.
After that, there was no stopping the semi-pros of Auckland City. Benfica increased the score to 5-0, through a deflected shot from Renato Sanches and two tap-ins from Leandro Barreiro. The final chord was for Di María, who won a penalty in extra time and scored again from the spot: 6-0.
Chelsea surprisingly lose against Flamengo
Chelsea lost the battle for the top position in Group D against Flamengo. The Conference League winner cherished a lead for a long time, but was surprised after half-time by the Brazilians, trained by old acquaintance Filipe Luís.
‘The Blues’ had won the first match 2-0 against Los Angeles FC, partly thanks to a goal from Pedro Neto. The same Portuguese was also successful against Flamengo. After a little over a quarter of an hour, Neto chased a deep ball on his own and could suddenly cross half the field and score the opening goal.
In the second half, Flamengo completely turned the match around in a matter of minutes. First, Bruno Henrique tapped in the 1-1 at the far post, shortly afterwards Danilo did the same. Moreover, Nicolas Jackson sealed Chelsea’s fate by getting red after a hard foul.
Wallace Yan made the Brazilian party in Philadelphia even bigger by shooting in the 3-1. Flamengo is at the top of the pool with six points and is almost certain of the next round. Chelsea follows with three points, Los Angeles FC and ES Tunis complete the group.