Bayern (Munich) is another 1/4-finalist of the Club World Cup, sportal.bg reported. Vincent Kompany's team defeated Flamengo 4:2 in one of the most eagerly awaited clashes of the 1/8-final phase.
Two goals by Harry Kane were the basis of the success of the Bavarians, who will face Paris Saint-Germain in the next round.
Bayern controlled the match at "Hard Rock Stadium" in Miami, after leading 2:0 by the 10th minute after an own goal by Eric Pulgar and a beautiful goal by Kane. Flamengo pulled one back with a spectacular performance by Gerson (33'), before Leon Goretzka (41') restored calm to the Munich team. In the second half, a penalty goal by Jorginho gave Flamengo hope, but Kane put an end to the dispute in the 73rd minute.
Flamengo performed very strongly from the start of the tournament. The Brazilian giants won 2-0 against EU Tunisia, then beat Chelsea 3-1 and guaranteed a place in the direct eliminations. In their last match in Group "D", Felipe Luis's team played without most of their starters and drew 1-1 with FC Los Angeles.
Bayern remained second in Group "C" due to the 0-1 defeat by Benfica and went into the more difficult stream. The Bavarians had previously thrashed New Zealand's Auckland City 10-0 and defeated Boca Juniors 2-1, but Vincent Kompany's decision to start without a large part of his main players against Benfica led to a somewhat unexpected loss.
Flamengo came out with a pure striker in Gonzalo Plata, and behind him were Gerson, Jorgen De Arascaeta and Luis Araujo. Veteran Jorginho and Erik Pulgar partnered as a pair of inner midfielders, and the four defenders in front of Agustin Rossi were Wesley, Leo Ortiz, Leo Pereira and Alex Sandro.
Among the reserves for the Brazilians were the hero of the match against ChelseaBruno Enrique and Wallace Yang, who scored against both the "blues" from London and FC Los Angeles.
There were no surprises in Bayern's starting 11. Manuel Neuer was in goal, Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Ta were relied on in the center of defense, and on both flanks Kompany trusted Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanisic. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka played in the middle of the field, in front of them were Michael Oliseh, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, and the attack was again led by Harry Kane.
On the bench for the giants from Munich were the names of Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, Aleksandar Pavlovich, Leroy Sane. The group also included the recently injured Kim Min-Jae.
Bayern was the more active team at the beginning and got several consecutive corners in front of Rossi's goal. After one of them in the 6th minute, Erik Pulgar scored an own goal. Kimmich crossed, and Pulgar did not get a good grip on his attempt to clear the ball and deflected it into the net.
Flamengo tried to respond immediately and De Arascaeta made a dangerous shot, but very soon Bayern led 2:0. Upamecano made a precise split in the opponent's half and immediately passed to Harry Kane, who left Rossi no chance. After the English striker's shot, the ball bounced off the right post before entering the goal.
This development of the match put Flamengo in a very unfavorable situation. The Brazilians had to attack with more people, but also be careful of Bayern's fast counterattacks. In the 15th minute, Araujo could have returned the intrigue. He intercepted a low cross to the far post, but Neuer showed remarkable reflexes.
The Flamengo fans in the stands were much more numerous and showed great support for their favorites, but it was difficult for them with a two-goal deficit. However, Felipe Luis's team tried to be aggressive at all points on the pitch and create chances for Neuer.
The match was briefly interrupted midway through the half due to a problem with referee Michael Oliver's equipment. In the 32nd minute, Araujo controlled the ball in the penalty area and shot acrobatically, but wide of the target. Seconds later, Flamengo captain Gerson pulled one back with a fierce shot under the crossbar after a pass from De Arascaeta.
The upturn in Mengo's game did not last long. Bayern skillfully took advantage of the excessive emotion in the actions of the Brazilians and waited for another mistake from them to reach the third goal. Its author was Leon Goretzka. The midfielder was on target in the 41st minute with a shot from outside the penalty area.
This time, Felipe Luis's players reacted negatively to what was happening and committed several gross violations. At one point, nerves took over and almost led to a fight between players from both teams, but everything was saved with yellow cards for JonathanT and Gonzalo Plata.
At the very end of the half, Pulgar suffered an injury and was forced to be replaced by Alan, who seconds after entering the field also saw the yellow card.
At the beginning of the second half, De Arascaeta had the opportunity to shoot at Neuer from a static position, but his attempt was very inaccurate. In the 53rd minute, Oliseh stopped the ball with his hands after a sharp cross from Jorginho and Michael Oliver immediately pointed to the white spot. Jorginho himself took the penalty and reduced the score to 2:3.
Immediately after the goal, Bruno Enrique replaced De Arascaeta in the Flamengo lineup, and for Bayern, Leroy Sane and Aleksandar Pavlovich appeared instead of Kingsley Komani and Leon Goretzka.
In the 63rd minute, Wesley fouled Harry Kane just outside the penalty area and became the next player with a yellow card. The subsequent cross led to Kane being pushed away centimeters from the goal, but the Bavarians' ram was offside.
About ten minutes later, Flamengo's defense made another fatal mistake. This time, Kimmich took the ball in front of the penalty area and immediately combined with Harry Kane, who made the score 4:2. The goal situation was very reminiscent of the one in the first half, when the Englishman scored for 2:0.
Flamengo no longer had the strength to resist, and there was not much time left in the match. Bayern kept the ball more and more calmly and counterattacked dangerously, but the attacks of the Germans did not end with shots.
In the last minutes, Thomas Muller also entered the game for Bayern, who hopes to say goodbye to the only club in his career so far, with a trophy. The Bavarians could have made their victory even more convincing, but at the very end of the match, Sane missed eye to eye with Rossi.