Boca Juniors and Benfica did not win in their match between themselves from Group "C" of the Club World Cup, sportal.bg reported.
The two teams played a nervous, but at the same time quite exciting match, which ended 2:2. The Argentines took the lead with two quick goals in the middle of the first half, by Miguel Merentiel in the 21st minute and Rodrigo Battaglia in the 27th minute. However, veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi brought the Portuguese a point with accurate shots in the 45th minute from the penalty spot and in the 84th minute.
Both teams finished with 10 men on the field, with Andrea Belotti seeing a red card for Lisbon, and Jorge Figal for the Argentines in the 89th minute.
Boca relied on Alan Velasco and Miguel Merentiel in attack, with support from Carlos Palacios behind them. Kevin Senon, Ander Herrera and Rodrigo Battaglia partnered in midfield.
Benfica, on the other hand, came out with Angel Di Maria, Bruma and Evangelos Pavlidis in forward positions. Frederik Orsnes and Samuel Dahl were the two midfielders, and Florentino and Renato Sánchez started as supporting midfielders.
Benfica started the match with more possession of the ball and more often stayed in their opponent's half. Thus, in the 6th minute, the first goal danger of the match came. Renato Sánchez received a pass in the penalty area and immediately fired a shot that went inches wide of the right post.
However, Boca quickly recovered and in the 13th minute Velasco took the ball in front of the penalty area, cleared space and shot, but just over the goal.
The Portuguese had another great opportunity in the 18th minute. Bruma controlled a long pass near the goal, turned and shot, but into the post. Even if he had scored, the goal would not have been recognized, as it was ruled an offside.
However, Boca Juniors opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Lautaro Blanco received the ball on the left flank, passed the ball through Florentino's legs and crossed sharply into the goal area, where Miguel Merentiel outpaced his direct keeper and managed to deflect the ball into the net for 1-0.
The Argentines quickly doubled their lead. In the 27th minute, after a cross from a corner, Ayrton Costa deflected a header to Rodrigo Battaglia, who also headed the ball into the net from close range for 2:0.
Benfica had a chance to reduce their deficit in the 31st minute, when Pavlidis was brought face to face with the opponent's goalkeeper, but was unable to overcome him, and here too it turned out that there was an offside.
At the very end of the first half, Benfica was awarded a penalty in their favor. A Boca defender kneed Nicolas Otamendi during a fight in the penalty area at a corner. After reviewing with VAR, the referee decided that there was a violation and pointed to the penalty spot, and Angel Di Maria coolly converted the penalty for 2:1.
The second half began with a situation for Boca Juniors. In the 50th minute, Velasco shot from a free kick and made it difficult for goalkeeper Trubin.
Benfica responded with a chance from Nicolas Otamendi after a corner in the 58th minute, but his header was wide of the target.
In the 67th minute, Advincula had moved forward and attempted a tricky long-range shot that went quite close to the right post.
Two minutes later, Rodrigo Battaglia was close to scoring, but this time his header was wide of the goal.
In the 72nd minute, Benfica were left with one man less on the pitch. Andrea Belotti raised his leg high while trying to play a ball and hit an opponent's head. Initially, the referee gave him a yellow card, but after the intervention of the VAR, it was changed to a red card.
In the 77th minute, the Portuguese had another reason to be unhappy with the referee, who did not award a penalty for a rather rough tackle on Pavlidis by a Boca player. However, in this case, the VAR did not intervene and the referee's decision remained unchanged.
And when it seemed that Benfica was cornered, the "Lisbon Eagles" managed to equalize. Nicolas Otamendi rose and headed the ball into the net to make it 2-2.
The Portuguese could have made a complete turnaround two minutes later when Alvaro Carreras broke into the penalty area and shot dangerously on the ground, but the goalkeeper was careful and saved.
In the 89th minute, the Argentines were left with 10 men on the field. Jorge Figal got too aggressive in a duel on the touchline and also went to the showers prematurely after being shown a red card.
After this draw, both teams have one point each and share 2nd place in the group. Bayern Munich is the leader with 3 points, and Auckland City is at the bottom with 0.