Echo from Buenos Aires

Born in Buenos Aires, amidst roughly 40,000 fans of Boca Juniors, Nicolás Otamendi secured a crucial draw for Benfica in the opening round of the Club World Cup.

See Also

• Boca Juniors Coach Speaks Out: It's Not a Penalty, but I Know the Referees...
• Boca Juniors and Benfica Kick Off FIFA Club World Cup with Thrilling Draw
• Bruno Lage: We Controlled the Game and It's a Shame We Didn't Score the Goals We Deserved

The echo did not come from the stands of La Bombonera, but from Otamendi's head, which sealed the draw when a loss seemed the inevitable outcome.

Nevertheless, it was an unsatisfactory performance by the Eagles, who, interestingly, played better with 10 players than with 11.

Regarding the match, Bruno Lage surprised everyone. Renato Sanches, Bruma, and Dahl (a failed bet at right-back) started, while on the Argentine side, Russo presented no last-minute surprises.

Antagonistic

Two contrasts on the field. Although anarchic and not always well-organized - especially from a defensive standpoint - the Boca team, buoyed by the support of tens of thousands of Argentinians, displayed impeccable attitude.

Aggressive, ambitious, selfless, and intense. The men led by Miguel Ángel Russo did not start off well - Renato Sanches and Bruma were very close to scoring - but they capitalized on their first great opportunity to make a difference.

Lautaro Blanco was sensational in the play that led to the goal. He outmaneuvered Florentino (who was too soft in his approach) and delivered a precise cross to Merentiel, who was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring. It was an unfair result, but later validated by the Eagles' powerless response.

The team managed by Bruno Lage became (even more) anxious, struggling to establish themselves in Boca's midfield, and the Argentinians took advantage. From a corner, after a header by Ayrton Costa, Battaglia (remember him) scored easily facing Trubin.

Before halftime, a penalty saved them. Otamendi was brought down inside the box by Palacios and Di María, with finesse, reignited the hope of the reds.

Belotti's expulsion... helped!

In the second half, without Dahl and with Aursnes at right-back (Belotti joined Pavlidis in a 4-4-2), Benfica - even at a disadvantage - did not start with the pronounced desire/ambition as stated by Luís Nascimento (Lage's assistant), in remarks to DAZN's microphones before the second half.

The assistant promised to 'press Boca and turn the game around', but the first 30 minutes did not show that. In fact, in between, Belotti - Lage's big bet at halftime - was expelled before he could even threaten Marchesín.

The expulsion, curiously, changed the course of the game. And not in favor of Boca. Even with an extra player on the field, the Argentinians continued with a defensive stance and Benfica took advantage.

With higher intensity levels - Boca Juniors, in this regard, lost a lot of steam - the Eagles managed dangerous approaches and, from a corner, applied the same poison to their opponent. Otamendi (another Argentine) appeared suddenly at the near post and leveled the score.

With the score at 2-2, the Argentine team became even more impatient as the game neared its end and Figal, with a very rough tackle on Florentino, saw a direct red card. With 10x10, the pace of the game did not change much and the draw persisted.