emirates7 - Benfica secured their first victory at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 following a prolonged weather delay at halftime, eventually overpowering a fatigued Auckland City side.
For much of the opening half, the Portuguese side were left frustrated by a superb performance from Auckland City's young goalkeeper Nathan Garrow, who produced a series of outstanding saves to deny Benfica’s attacking stars—most notably thwarting efforts from Pavlidis and Di Maria.
But just before the halftime whistle, Auckland’s defence cracked. Jerson Lagos fouled Gianluca Prestianni inside the box, and Di Maria calmly slotted home the resulting penalty to finally put Benfica ahead.
In another thrilling match, Chelsea took an early lead through Pedro Neto, only for Flamengo to rally after halftime and claim a comeback win that put them on top of their group.
Flamengo overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat 10-man Chelsea FC at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, delivering one of the tournament’s most exciting encounters so far.
The win keeps CONMEBOL teams unbeaten in the competition and lifts the Rio giants to the top of Group D ahead of the final group stage matches.
Despite dominating possession and repeatedly testing Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez in the first half, Flamengo found themselves trailing. The breakthrough came when Flamengo right-back Wesley misjudged a long ball near midfield, allowing Pedro Neto to steal possession, sprint past the defenders, and calmly slot the ball past Agustin Rossi.
For much of the opening half, the Portuguese side were left frustrated by a superb performance from Auckland City's young goalkeeper Nathan Garrow, who produced a series of outstanding saves to deny Benfica’s attacking stars—most notably thwarting efforts from Pavlidis and Di Maria.
But just before the halftime whistle, Auckland’s defence cracked. Jerson Lagos fouled Gianluca Prestianni inside the box, and Di Maria calmly slotted home the resulting penalty to finally put Benfica ahead.
In another thrilling match, Chelsea took an early lead through Pedro Neto, only for Flamengo to rally after halftime and claim a comeback win that put them on top of their group.
Flamengo overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat 10-man Chelsea FC at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, delivering one of the tournament’s most exciting encounters so far.
The win keeps CONMEBOL teams unbeaten in the competition and lifts the Rio giants to the top of Group D ahead of the final group stage matches.
Despite dominating possession and repeatedly testing Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez in the first half, Flamengo found themselves trailing. The breakthrough came when Flamengo right-back Wesley misjudged a long ball near midfield, allowing Pedro Neto to steal possession, sprint past the defenders, and calmly slot the ball past Agustin Rossi.