SL Benfica 1-0 Bayern München: Stubborn Eagles overcome Bayern in final group match | OneFootball

The Portuguese side, who know that even a narrow defeat might be enough to see them through, depending on the result in the parallel fixture between Boca Juniors and Auckland City.

And they signalled their intent early, earning the first corner of the match in the 6th minute after a probing attack. Just three minutes later, Ángel Di María forced the game’s first save, stinging the palms of Manuel Neuer from 25 yards out following a misplaced clearance from Leroy Sané.

The early signs of Bayern’s sloppiness in possession were already beginning to show.

The opening quarter-hour was scrappy, with neither side truly settling into a rhythm, but it was Benfica who made their pressure count. In the 13th minute, Fredrik Aursnes picked out Andreas Schjelderup with a low cross into the box, and the Norwegian made no mistake.

His composed, right-footed finish beat Neuer at the near post to give Benfica a deserved lead — Schjelderup’s first goal of the tournament.

Bayern, by contrast, looked disjointed and uninspired. Their wide men, Serge Gnabry and Sané, were virtually anonymous, and there was a notable absence of attacking cohesion or urgency.

As the second half kicked off, Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Joshua Kimmich entered the fray for Der Rekordmeister, and it didn’t take long for the latter duo to make their presence felt. Kimmich, in particular, wasted no time imposing his influence, quickly setting the tempo in midfield.

The veteran playmaker threaded a superb pass through to Leroy Sané, whose effort was denied by the goalkeeper. But with chances from Thomas Müller and Aleksandar Pavlovic soon after, Bayern began to shake off their sluggish first-half display in Charlotte.

Kimmich appeared to have capped off his bright cameo with a stunning strike from the edge of the box, only for the goal to be chalked off — Kane had strayed into an offside position, obstructing Ukrainian keeper Anatoliy Trubin’s line of sight.

Trubin was called into action again in the 75th minute, producing a crucial save to stop Pavlovic’s close-range shot after a sublime delivery from Olise.

With 15 minutes remaining, the Eagles remained perched atop Group C, Bayern trailing in second. And as Sané saw yet another one-on-one chance thwarted — this time following a world-class through ball from Kane — it began to feel as though the standings would remain unchanged.

And they did exactly that, with Bruno Lage's stubborn Benfica outfit seeing out a brilliant 1-0 win in North Carolina to top Group C.