Roundup: Bayern, Flamengo reach Club World Cup last 16
NEW YORK, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Bayern Munich and Flamengo booked their places in the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup on Friday with wins over Boca Juniors and Chelsea, while Benfica boosted its hopes of advancing after routing Auckland City.
Esperance also kept alive its knockout-stage chances by edging past Los Angeles FC, which joined Auckland in exiting the tournament.
In Philadelphia, Brazil's Flamengo moved three points clear at the top of Group D after recovering from a goal down to overcome Chelsea 3-1.
Portuguese winger Pedro Neto put Chelsea ahead when he capitalized on Wesley Franca's miscued clearance to dribble almost half the length of the pitch before calmly shooting past Argentine goalkeeper Agustin Rossi.
Flamengo equalized just after the hour through Bruno Henrique, who tapped home after Gonzalo Plata flicked on Gerson's cross.
The Rio de Janeiro outfit suddenly had the momentum, and Henrique turned provider three minutes later as his header set up Danilo to volley home at the far post.
Chelsea was reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute after Nicolas Jackson was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Lucas Ayrton.
Wallace Yan put the result beyond doubt by playing a slick one-two with Plata before firing in from the edge of the six-yard box.
"We always believed that we had a chance," Flamengo manager Filipe Luis said afterwards. "I'm very proud because after our mistake in giving away the first goal, we didn't drop our heads. We continued to play the same way. We gave our all until the end and that warms my heart."
In Orlando, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Barreiro scored twice apiece as Benfica romped to a 6-0 victory over Auckland City.
Benfica initially struggled to breach the New Zealand club's five-man defense but Di Maria broke the deadlock from the penalty spot just before halftime.
It was all one-way traffic thereafter, despite a two-hour delay due to a storm alert. Vangelis Pavlidis, Renato Sanches, Barreiro and Di Maria were all on target in the second half as Benfica registered its first win of the tournament.
The Portuguese side is now second in Group C with four points while Auckland City is last with 16 goals conceded in two matches.
"This is the longest game of my career," Benfica head coach Bruno Lage said. "A special thanks to our fans, who have been here for five hours supporting the team. We played as well as we could. The [hot] temperature made it very difficult."
In Nashville, Tunisia's Esperance kept alive its hopes of reaching the next stage with a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC.
Youcef Belaili handed his side the lead in the 70th minute when he pounced on a loose ball in the area and drilled a low shot that deflected in off the left leg of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Esperance is now third in Group D and will need to beat Chelsea in Philadelphia on Tuesday to progress to the knockout phase. Los Angeles FC is fourth, having failed to pick up a point so far and with no chance of progressing.
In Miami, France international midfielder Michael Olise scored late as Bayern Munich kept its perfect record intact with a 2-1 win over Argentine side Boca Juniors.
Harry Kane opened the scoring for the Bundesliga champions when he intercepted a defensive clearance and fired low into the far corner with his weaker left foot.
Uruguayan forward Miguel Merentiel equalized by running onto Alan Velasco's through ball and ghosting past Josip Stanisic before clinically finishing past Manuel Neuer.
Olise restored Bayern's lead six minutes from time with a fizzing drive from distance after Kane's clever layoff.
While the German club is assured of a place in the next round, Boca will need to defeat Auckland City by a hefty margin on Tuesday to have any chance of advancing. ■