Benfica 1-0 Bayern: Bavarians suffer upset loss, finishing 2nd in Group C

Benfica got a first-half goal from Andreas Schjelderup and weathered second-half pressure from Bayern, who were already qualified for the last 16.

Match Report

SL Benfica grabbed the early lead on Andreas Schjelderup's first-half strike and got crucial second-half saves by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to beat FC Bayern München 1-0 and qualify for the knockout round at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.

With the victory, Benfica finish as Group C winners and will meet the Group D runners-up in Charlotte on 28 June. Bayern will meet Group D winners CR Flamengo in Miami on 29 June.

Benfica got their goal in the 13th minute. Gianluca Prestianni redirected Fredrik Aursnes' cross into the box to Andreas Schjelderup, who calmly placed his first-time finish inside the left post and past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for a 1-0 lead.

Bayern dominated possession in the first half, but the German side struggled to create chances. Their best moment of the opening period came in the 44th minute when Serge Gnabry played a cutback pass through the box to Leroy Sane, but the winger blasted his first-time strike well off target.

Vincent Kompany made three changes at the break to energize his attack, bringing on Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Joshua Kimmich, and the impact was immediate for Bayern. In the 51st minute, they forced Trubin into consecutive saves on Sane's breakaway and Thomas Muller's strike from inside the area.

Benfica coach Bruno Lage countered by inserting midfielder Orkun Kokcu and Kerem Akturkoglu, and the substitutions nearly paid off instantly when Akturkoglu's deft first touch around Dayot Upamecano allowed him to unleash a close-range strike to force a tough Neuer save.

Bayern appeared to achieve their breakthrough in the 61st minute when Kimmich fired a left-footed strike inside Trubin's left post, but Kane was offside to cancel the goal.

The Bundesliga champions kept applying pressure. In the 75th minute, Olise's cross had Benfica scrambling to clear the ball, and it fell to Aleksandar Pavlovic, whose left-footed strike was kept out by Trubin's legs. In the 87th minute, Trubin alertly came out of his goal to stop Sane again on a breakaway.

Line-ups

Benfica XI: Di Maria, Otamendi, Fredrik Aursnes, R.Sanches, Vangelis Pavlidis, Leandro Barreiro, Anatoliy Trubin, Samuel Dahl, Andreas Schjelderup, António Silva, Gianluca Prestianni

Subs: Bruma, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Orkun Kökçü, Tiago Gouveia, Adrian Bajrami, Rafael Luís, João Veloso, Diogo Prioste, João Rego, Joshua Wynder, Gonçalo Oliveira, Diogo Ferreira, Leandro Santos

Bayern XI: Neuer, Muller, Guerreiro, Gnabry, Sane, Palhinha, Upamecano, Boey, Stanisic, Tom Bischof, Pavlovic

Subs: Kane, Goretzka, Kimmich, Tah, Coman, Laimer, Peretz, Musiala, Olise, Jonas Urbig, Aznou, Jonah Kusi-Asare, David Santos Daiber, Lennart Karl, Cassiano Kiala