Olise puts the cauldron to sleep: FC Bayern beats Boca Juniors and worries about Musiala

Olise puts the cauldron to sleep FC Bayern beats Boca Juniors and worries about Musiala 21.06.2025, 05:02 Uhr

Things are looking up for FC Bayern at the Club World Cup: The furious 10-0 opening victory against Auckland was followed by a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors. While the Munich side are clearly the better team, they have a long, hard-fought battle ahead. And the victory may cost them dearly.

FC Bayern Munich has advanced to the round of 16 at the Club World Cup. The record champions deservedly beat Boca Juniors of Argentina 2-1 (1-0) in Miami after a strong performance for much of the match. Their match against Benfica Lisbon on Tuesday (9 p.m. CEST/Sat.1 and DAZN) in Charlotte will determine who wins their group. Possible opponents in the round of 16 include Chelsea, Flamengo, or Tunis.

Goalscorer Harry Kane gave Bayern, who had been dominating for a long time, the lead in the 18th minute in front of 63,587 spectators at the Hard Rock Stadium. Boca equalized in a heated atmosphere through Miguel Merentiel (66th), but the strong Michael Olise countered (84th). He then stood up in front of the fans and made a silent gesture.

The downside: Musiala has to go again

However, for the Munich team, who had celebrated a goal-fest with a 10-0 victory over Auckland at the start of the mammoth tournament in the USA, there was a bitter pill to swallow: substitute Jamal Musiala had to leave injured shortly before the final whistle. The young star had only just returned to fitness shortly before the World Cup after a weeks-long layoff.

After training better under competitive conditions against Auckland, Kompany made three changes to his squad against Boca. Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, and Konrad Laimer replaced Sacha Boey, Aleksandar Pavlovic, and Thomas Müller. "They'll use every tactic they have to throw us off our game," Kane warned before the match. "We have to be prepared for that. It's a dangerous game."

Bayern started with their usual dominant performance against the 35-time Argentinian champions, who had earned a 2-2 draw with Benfica in a heated opening match that included three red cards. The first goal came after just eight minutes. However, a directly converted corner kick by Michael Olise was disallowed after a video review due to a previous foul.

Bayern is thriving with chances

However, Kane's goal, which he energetically pushed through in the penalty area, was perfectly on target. Bayern had everything under control but failed to extend their lead. Kingsley Coman (20'), Olise (32'), and Kane (35') all failed to score from free positions. At the other end, Boca rarely threatened.

After the break, Bayern kept the pressure on. But once again, it was the eye-catching Olise (52') who missed a very good opportunity – as did Kane shortly afterwards. This would come back to haunt them. Boca then came forward, and Merentiel coolly finished. Munich were shaky for the first time. Even the substitutions of Musiala and Leroy Sané, who is available until the round of 16 before joining Galatasaray, initially failed to have the desired effect – until Olise scored and put the stadium to sleep.