Bayern Munich ousted Boca Juniors in a fiercely-contested Group C clash at the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup.
It was a match that lived up to its billing as one of the tournament’s marquee encounters. Fresh from a 10-0 rout of Auckland City in their opening fixture, Bayern Munich were made to work much harder against a brave Boca outfit. The Argentinian side brought intensity and energy to a game filled with excitement.
Bayern dominated the first half from the off, systematically dismantling Boca due to their fluid attacking structure. This was built on intelligent movement, ideal spatial occupation and crafty variations going forward.
Bayern routinely morphed into a 3-3-4 shape, with the full-backs pushing into midfield while Leon Goretzka frequently dropped alongside the centre-backs. This allowed Raphael Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer to push up, helping Bayern secure an early foothold. As a result, Bayern’s masterful wingers, Kingsley Coman and Michael Olise, could thrive in wide zones.
Coman and Olise constantly created advantageous situations, with their wide dynamics bearing fruit against Boca wreaking havoc. They were supported superbly by the underlapping runs of Laimer and Guerreiro repeatedly catching Boca cold.
Throughout the match, Bayern cleverly channelling their attacks down one side before switching rapidly to the other was also extremely vital.
Bayern typically opted to hit the left initially prior to switching to isolate Olise on the right. This created favourable one-on-ones and two-on-ones, where Olise’s outstanding skills and athleticism rose to the fore. Moreover, with Boca shifting their defence to the opposite flank, support wasn’t immediately there to help full-back Lautaro Blanco. With Olise receiving the ball in forward-facing posture to instantly attack back-pedalling defenders, the Frenchman had the upper-hand.
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Bayern made the most of the weaknesses created by Boca’s marking set up, giving them the platform to fire in a host of dangerous crosses into the box.
It was hardly surprising that these tactics were the catalyst for Harry Kane’s opener. Olise and Laimer rotated sharply to form a four-on-three, with the Austrian having time to whip in a delightful cross while Boca’s defence was preoccupied with Olise and the floating Serge Gnabry. Kane was subsequently perfectly-placed to slot home with aplomb after a disoriented attempt to deal with Laimer’s delivery.
Fittingly, the winner also stemmed from Olise receiving a switch and isolating his marker one-on-one, with Laimer notably positioned inside. Although the scenario was slightly unfortunate for Boca, the tactic again provided the foundation for Olise to atone for his earlier error and cap off a brilliant all-round performance.
However, Bayern became increasingly sloppy in the second half, with careless turnovers allowing Boca back into the game. The Argentinian side gained crucial momentum and impetus, energised by their ferocious fans.
As a result, Boca got their equaliser in the 66th minute, courtesy of a sublime solo effort from Miguel Merentiel. It came thanks to a terrific through ball from Alan Velasco, whose influence grew immensely after the interval. The passage began with Olise losing the ball. Velasco then got on the ball and obliged Merentiel’s wonderfully timed burst in behind. The Boca captain proceeded to outfox the Bayern centre-backs before applying an exceptional finish. It was a real moment of magic and inspiration from Boca’s talisman.
Boca certainly deserved tremendous credit for their comeback, despite being thoroughly outclassed in the first half. The way they absorbed pressure, stayed composed and struck with precision was genuinely impressive.
Ultimately, Bayern’s quality told. They regrouped to snatch a late winner via Olise in a contest that underlined the fine margins of elite football.
The win sealed Bayern’s spot in the knockout stages, though they need to avoid defeat to Benfica to clinch first place. Boca, meanwhile, need to beat Auckland by at least six goals and hope Benfica lose to Bayern.