Group C: Bayern Munich 2-1 Boca Juniors
Merentiel equalises for Argentinians before Olise scores late winner
Harry Kane ended the night in Miami bruised, sweat-soaked and perhaps a little weary from repeatedly picking himself up off the ground. Along the way Kane also scored one, made one and walked off with the Superior Player Of the Match laurels as Bayern Munich edged their way to a relentlessly entertaining 2-1 defeat of Boca Juniors in front of a high-energy full house.
As a result, Bayern are now though to the knockout stage of the Club World Cup. A European team has also finally beaten a South American opponent at this tournament. But defeat still leaves Boca effectively in charge of their own destiny, with the fall-guys of Auckland City to come. They basically need to win by a spectacular margin and rely on Bayern to beat Porto.
There had been a lot of talk before this game about a night of full-contact combat in store for Bayern’s attack and midfield. The central defender Lauturo Di Lollo had been asked ahead of this tournament how he planned to cope with Kane, and replied “I’m going to kill him”. It was meant as a joke. Probably. But there was an excellent opportunity to test this from kick-off as Di Lollo started in central defence right up against his intended victim.
