Fluminense held Borussia Dortmund to a 0-0 draw in their Group F Club World Cup opener in New Jersey on Tuesday, as the Brazilian side were left to rue missed chances at MetLife Stadium.
Fluminense were firmly in control against the Bundesliga side in the first half but Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel produced a handful of superb saves to frustrate the Brazilian team in front of a crowd mostly in their favour.
After Dortmund struggled to get a foothold in the match with no shots on goal in the first half, Kobel did his part with a remarkable double-save midway through the second half and frantic late efforts from both sides went unrewarded.
Dortmund will next play Mamelodi Sundowns in Cincinnati, while Fluminense will return to MetLife to face Ulsan HD on Saturday.
Goals from two Argentine internationals denied Boca Juniors victory over Benfica on Monday, as the Buenos Aires side were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in a stormy Club World Cup Group C clash.
An Angel Di Maria penalty on the stroke of half-time and an 86th-minute header from Nicolas Otamendi earned the 10-man Lisbon side a point from a fiercely contested encounter in what was a de facto home game for Boca.
The Argentine club had led 2-0 thanks to goals from Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia and looked set for a night of celebration after Benfica went down to 10 men in the 72nd minute.
Boca fans had taken over Miami Beach over the weekend, thousands of them gathering on the seafront for a traditional ‘banderazo’, singing, drinking and waving flags for hours in the searing heat.
The Hard Rock Stadium was turned into a Bombonera by the beach, with 90% of the 55,574 crowd decked out in blue and yellow and bringing a level of constant noise rarely, if ever, heard for NFL games here.
When the action got underway it was clear that the enthusiasm from the stands was going to be matched on the field with Boca confirming the feeling that South American clubs in this tournament are out to prove a point against European opponents.
Boca’s midfield buzzed around, they attacked at pace and tackled with aggression and the first huge roar came when Benfica’s Argentine World Cup winner Di Maria received a rough challenge from behind.
But the physicality was laced with skill too and clever work from Lautaro Blanco down the left created the opening goal in the 21st minute.
Blanco cut in from the left flank, nutmegging Benfica defender Florentino and zipping a low ball in which was expertly flicked home by Merentiel.
The goal lifted the volume even higher and Benfica were struggling to cope — six minutes later they fell 2-0 behind when from a deep Kevin Zenon corner, Ayrton Costa headed towards the back post were the alert Battaglia nodded home from close range.
Two-time European champions Benfica desperately needed to get a foothold in the game and they were gifted one when Boca’s Carlos Palacios mistimed a challenge on Otamendi and after a VAR review – which included a red card for protesting from the already substituted Boca midfield Ander Herrera – a penalty was awarded.
The 37-year-old Di Maria showed all his experience to send Agustín Marchesín the wrong way as he gently slotted home to reduce the deficit.
Boca had a chance to restore their two-goal lead in the 69th minute but Battaglia headed wide from a promising position.
Benfica found themselves further in trouble when Andrea Belotti, a half-time sub, was sent off in the 71st minute after a wild, high-footed kick into the head of Ayrton Costa.
But then with six minutes remaining Boca’s defence failed to pick up Otamendi at a corner kick and the Argentine veteran met Orkun Kokcu’s cross with a thundering header to level the game.
A disappointing result for Boca was compounded by a late red card for Nicolas Figal, who was dismissed for an ugly challenge on Florentino.
Di Maria also felt Benfica could have taken all three points from the game.
Meanwhile, Brazilian giants Flamengo set themselves up for a Club World Cup showdown with Chelsea by easing to a 2-0 win against Esperance of Tunisia in their opening game at the tournament on Monday.
Goals either side of half time from Uruguayan international Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Luiz Araujo gave a dominant Flamengo — coached by former Chelsea player Filipe Luis — a deserved victory in the Group D clash in Philadelphia.
Flamengo, who qualified for the tournament as a recent winner of the Copa Libertadores, fielded a strong side featuring several Brazil internationals and gave a debut to Italy midfielder Jorginho following his recent arrival from Arsenal.
Jorginho will come up against former club Chelsea when the teams meet in their second match on Friday, with the Premier League club fresh from beating Los Angeles FC 2-0 earlier Monday.
De Arrascaeta opened the scoring for the Rio de Janeiro outfit in the 17th minute at Lincoln Financial Field when he finished first time from a Luiz Araujo assist.
That set off wild celebrations among the Flamengo fans, who made up the majority of the 25,797 crowd in a stadium which can hold close to 70,000.
Flamengo had chances to increase their lead while Tunisian champions Esperance created little of note before their Algerian winger Youcef Belaili almost equalised midway through the second half.
Shortly after that Flamengo scored again, as Luiz Araujo found a pocket of space in the box in the 70th minute, turned and curled a low shot into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Agencies
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