With a 4-0 victory over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds at the Rose Bowl, Mexican club Monterrey secured a spot in the Club World Cup’s knockout rounds.
The team won the game on Wednesday thanks to three goals in eight first-half minutes as they moved into second place in Group E, trailing only Inter Milan, whose 2-0 victory over River Plate averted some nerves for the European giants.
Nelson Deossa and Jesus Corona’s stunning long-range goals gave Monterrey and Borussia Dortmund a chance to advance to the last 16 after German Berterame’s cool finish.
Four minutes later, Berterame doubled Monterrey’s lead with a swerving long-range shot, which Deossa had made at the half-hour mark.
In the 38th minute, Corona scored the third goal from distance before Berterame scored the fourth goal in stoppage time.
Coach Domenec Torrent expressed his satisfaction that Monterrey is in the final stage.
“We’re very pleased that we have a clean sheet; in this group, especially given how small we were,” said one participant.
Inter Milan stayed on top as they defeated nine-man, beat River Plate, and secured a knockout tie with Fluminense.
In Seattle, the champions league runners-up battled an aggressive River Plate side, which sent off Lucas Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel in front of 45, 000 fans at Lumen Field.
For Christian Chivu’s side, Francesco Esposito scored his first Inter goal to lead the Italians, and Alessandro Bastoni secured the victory in the second half.
Their intensity, aggression, and pressure surprised us in the first half, Chivu said.
“We then increased our level of intensity,” the coach said, “and we now have players who can play this game.”
River needed a winner to advance when Monterrey was ahead of Urawa, but Martinez’ sentencing after 66 minutes for beating veteran Henrikh Mkhitaryan made things harder.
River was on the verge of a losing situation when teenage striker Esposito fired home the opener six minutes later.
Before River’s Gonzalo Montiel picked up a second yellow and was dismissed, Bastoni ensured Inter’s progress by drilling home.
At the end of the game, River fans threw objects at Inter players before leaving the field.
Despite their fans creating lively atmospheres, both Argentinian teams, Boca Juniors and River, were eliminated.
It’s a shame for everyone who attended the game to realize that we couldn’t give the team the chance to keep going,” said River coach Marcelo Gallardo in a sorry mood.
Fluminense, who defeated Ulsan HD 1-0 to claim the top spot in Group F, was only able to draw 0-0 against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.
Due to Sundowns’ exit, none of the four African clubs participating in the tournament will make the last 16, but their performances will give them confidence in their future endeavors.
The coach of the South African champions, Miguel Cardoso, said, “We leave and go home with our heads up because we are much stronger than we were when we came here.”
Manchester City and Juventus square off in Group G on Thursday, while Real Madrid and RB Salzburg battle it out for top spot in Group H.
Source: Aljazeera
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