Benfica stun Bayern to top group C | OneFootball

Benfica sealed their place in the Club World Cup last 16 with a hard-fought 1–0 win over Bayern Munich, a result that also secured them top spot in Group C.

With the group’s top spot still on the line, Bayern manager Vincent Kompany made several changes to his line-up for the final group match - a decision that may have cost them.

The breakthrough came early, as Andreas Schjelderup fired in after just 13 minutes, guiding home a neat first-time finish from Fredrik Aursnes’ low ball across the box.

Chasing the game, Kompany turned to his big guns at half-time, bringing on Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olise and Harry Kane in search of a response.

Kimmich thought he’d pulled the Bavarians level with a fine low strike, only for the goal to be disallowed due to Kane straying offside in the build-up.

The Portuguese side had to dig deep in the second half, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin producing a series of excellent saves, denying Leroy Sané twice and Aleksandar Pavlovic to preserve his side’s slender lead.

Despite late pressure, the German side couldn’t find a way through, bringing their unbeaten run to an end and leaving them to settle for second in the group.

Bruno Lage’s side now march on as group winners, though they may face a tricky tie in the next round, possibly against Chelsea, should the Blues avoid defeat to Espérance de Tunis. Bayern, meanwhile, are set to take on Flamengo in the Last 16.