Boca Juniors, Benfica draw 2-2 in Club World Cup match that includes 3 red cards, 22 fouls
Baku, June 17, AZERTAC
Benfica overcame a two-goal deficit, getting Ángel Di María’s penalty kick in first-half stoppage time and Nicolás Otamendi’s 84th-minute goal for a 2-2 draw against Boca Juniors on Monday night in a heated Club World Cup match that included three red cards, four yellows and 22 fouls, AP reported.
Boca Juniors played in a home-like environment with the Argentine club’s supporters making up most of the 55,574 crowd at Hard Rock Stadium against one of Portugal’s premier teams. Both teams finished a man down and one Boca player was sent off after he was substituted from the match due to injury.
Heavily armed police were present at checkpoints to ensure order for a Boca supporters’ group that is extremely fierce and passionate. But, most of the rough action was on the field, not in the stands, as the game included red cards for Boca’s Ander Herrera in the 44th, Benfica’s Andrea Belotti in the 72nd and Boca’s Nicolás Figal in the 88th.
Boca built its lead on goals by Miguel Merentiel in the 21st minute and Rodrigo Battaglia in the 27th.
Referee César Ramos awarded the penalty after a video review for Carlos Palacios’ kneeing Otamendi. Herrera, who was taken out after 20 minutes, got a red card for protesting the decision.
Belotti was sent off for a foul when a high kick caught Ayrton Costa on the back of the head and Figal for knocking over Florentino.
Otamendi’s front post header helped Benfica salvage a point.
Boca Juniors, after underperforming last season in the Argentina first division and disappointing in the Copa Libertadores, used the support of their fans to fuel them and earn a point in group play. Their second match, against Bayern Munich in Miami on Friday night, will prove to be a more challenging game.
Benfica, which was imprecise in its play and gave the ball away many times unprovoked, will play Friday as well and take on the only semi-professional team in the Club World Cup, Auckland City, which was badly beaten by Bayern.
Meanwhile, Luiz Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored to lead Flamengo over Esperance 2-0 on Monday night.
After the Brazilian team dominated possession for 17 minutes, de Arrascaeta opened the scoring off a cross from Araujo.
Araujo scored in the 70th from an assist by Jorginho, a 33-year-old midfielder who left Arsenal ahead of the tournament. Jorginho was a 2021 Club World Cup champion with Chelsea.
Lincoln Financial Field brimmed with energy for the entire game thanks to 25,797 Flamengo and Esperance fans, well short of the 67,594 capacity.
In the 66th minute, Esperance had a chance to tie the score with a counterattack led by Youcef Belaili, but Agustin Rossi made a crucial save to keep Flamengo in the lead.
Flamengo put itself in good position in Group D heading into matches against Chelsea on Friday and Los Angeles FC on June 24. Esperance needs to rebound against LA on Friday and Chelsea on June 24 if it hopes to advance.
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