Angel Di Maria (middle) is Benfica's most outstanding player - Photo: FIFA
On the morning of June 17, Boca Juniors and Benfica kicked off their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign with one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament so far.
After 20 minutes of Portuguese domination, it was Boca who opened the scoring. Midfielder Carlos Palacios won the ball from a long goal kick, creating space for left-back Lautaro Blanco to face an out-of-position Florentino.
Blanco easily beat the Benfica midfielder before delivering a low left-footed cross to the near post, where Miguel Merentiel deftly tapped the ball into the net in the 21st minute.
Just six minutes later, to the enthusiastic cheers of Boca fans, they doubled their lead from a corner kick.
Centre-back Ayrton Costa won the first aerial challenge, heading the ball back inside from the far post. Midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia then rose above his defender to head the ball into the net at the near post.
The match continued at a high tempo with many chances and fouls. As the first half neared its end, after consulting VAR, the referee determined that Nicolas Otamendi had been fouled by Palacios in the penalty area.
Angel Di Maria easily fooled the Boca Juniors goalkeeper, shortening the gap for Benfica. This was also the last tournament of the Argentine veteran with the Portuguese club.
After the break, Benfica pinned their hopes on veteran striker Andrea Belotti to find a breakthrough. But Belotti disappointed when he was sent off for a high kick to the back of Ayrton Costa's head in the 72nd minute.
Before that, Herrera of Boca Juniors also received a red card in the 45th minute.
It seemed like Benfica would be left empty-handed in their opening match, but Nicolas Otamendi made a powerful header from a corner kick to equalize the match.
Boca defender Nicolas Figal was shown a red card in the final seconds of the 90 minutes. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
Speaking after the match, Benfica midfielder Angel Di Maria said: “We know what Argentine football is like and we know how we have to play. But in the first half we didn’t do that.
In the second half, we played much better and tried to get a point. They are really not an easy team to play against."
At the end of the first round of matches, Bayern Munich temporarily topped Group C with 3 points (+10 goal difference). Benfica and Boca Juniors were respectively behind with 1 point. Auckland City ranked bottom of the table with no points.
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THANH DINH
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/boca-juniors-va-benfica-chia-diem-kich-tinh-trong-tran-cau-3-the-do-20250617084316943.htm
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