New Delhi: Chelsea eased past Tunisian club Esperance 3-0 on Tuesday to set up a Club World Cup last-16 match against Portuguese club Benfica, who earlier stunned Bayern Munich 1-0 in scorching heat in Charlotte, USA.
The victory sent the Portuguese club to the top of Group C while Bayern slipped to second place as Argentine club Boca Juniors were eliminated after a shock loss to amateur Kiwi club Auckland City.
In Philadelphia, Liam Delap scored his first goal for the Blues while Enzo Fernandez had two assists in a comfortable win over Esperance.
Blues set up Benfica clash
Tosin Adarabioyo gave Chelsea a deserved lead in the third minute of first-half stoppage time with a header from Fernandez’s free-kick. Delap found the net two minutes later, taking Fernandez’s pass with his back to the goal, drifting past Yassine Meriah and rifling home past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.
Tyrique George added a third in the second-half stoppage time with a long-range shot that burst through the hands of Said.
Chelsea ended the league stage with six points, one behind Group D leader Flamengo, who played out a 1-1 draw with Los Angeles FC.
Bayern falter in sweltering North Carolina heat
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C match with German giants Bayern in front of 33,287 fans. The Portuguese club was in front after 13 minutes when Schjelderup finished with a first-time strike from a cutback by fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes.
The Bundesliga champions, who benched Harry Kane and Michael Olise, never got going in the scorching heat. Kane and Olise were introduced at half-time, and Bayern became more threatening immediately after their arrival. However, it was Leroy Sane who came the closest to finding the net. The German attacker, though, was denied brilliantly by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin when through on goal.
Joshua Kimmich had a goal ruled out for offside, and Trubin made another save off Sane while Kane misdirected a late header as Bayern wasted a golden opportunity to finish the group on top.
With a second-place finish, Bayern will face Brazilian giants Flamengo in Miami on Sunday, with a big possibility of facing European champions Paris Saint-Germain in quarter-finals.