Auckland City Gets Routed for 2nd Straight Time at Club World Cup

Five days after losing 10-0 to FC Bayern, Auckland City was routed again, at the hands of Benfica.

Angel Di Maria and Leandro Barreiro each scored two goals on Friday to help the Portugese-based club, Benfica, to defeat Auckland City 6-0 in a Club World Cup game that was delayed at halftime because of thunder and lightning.

Di María, who teamed with Lionel Messi to win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, scored his first goal from the penalty spot deep into added time at the end of the first half. His second score, and the team’s sixth, was again from the penalty spot and in added time at the end of the match.

Auckland City exchanged counterattacks with the Portuguese powerhouse in the first half of the Group C match, but was still outshot 18-1.

The second half went Benfica’s way. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute, Renato Sanches scored a short time later and Barreiro then scored a pair of goals to increase the lead to 5-0.

A thunderstorm delayed the start of the second half for more than two hours. When the match resumed at Inter&Co Stadium, the goals came pouring in for Benfica.

Key moment

Auckland midfielder Tong Zhou went down with an apparent head injury just before halftime. Trainers attended to Zhou on the field, and Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras complained about the delay. He was given a yellow card after a spat with game officials.

Takeaways

With the win, Benfica has four points in Group C. Bayern Munich, which beat Auckland City 10-0 in its opening match, plays Boca Juniors later Friday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

What they said

“It was very good. We are happy to play here.” — Benfica coach Bruno Lage.

“I’m a little bit frustrated. The first half was solid. It was just very disappointing to concede a goal. I think the guys are going to be a little bit disappointed in the scoreline.” — Auckland coach Paul Posa.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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