The Club World Cup will be lacking in the knockout stages due to the roar from both sides of Buenos Aires, but the field showed that the greats from Argentina deservedly go home after just three matches.
After Boca Juniors and River Plate were eliminated from the Club World Cup - the door to the knockout phase was closed to the team from "El Monumental" by Inter.
The European vice-champion celebrated 2:0, with goals in Seattle scored by Francesco Pio Esposito in the 72nd minute and the masterful Alessandro Bastoni in the 93rd minute. Before that, River was left with ten men after Lucas Martinez Querta was sent off.
Inter has thus scheduled a duel with Fluminense, another South American giant, in the round of 16, while Monterrey has also advanced to the knockout stage with the Nerazzurri from Group E.
The Mexicans easily defeated Japan's Urawa (4:0) in the last round, and will now face Borussia Dortmund for a place in the quarterfinals. Monterrey's victory was scored by Nelson Deosa, Erman Berterame (two goals) and Jesus Corona.
When it comes to the duel between Inter and River, apart from the sure victory of the "nerazzurri", it was also marked by great nervousness on the part of the Argentines at the end. Gonzalo Montiel earned another sending-off in the 93rd minute, and Marcos Acuña chased Denzel Dumfries to the tunnel in an attempt to deal with him.
The River fans were not far behind, throwing everything and anything from the stands at Dumfries and the other Inter players.
Thus, before the last night of the group stage, six pairs of the round of 16 are known: Palmeiras - Botafogo, Benfica - Chelsea, Inter Milan - Fluminense, PSG - Inter Miami, Flamengo - Bayern and Borussia - Monterrey.
Manchester City and Juve are already in the round of 21, and tonight at XNUMXpm they will decide who will be the group winner, while from XNUMXam onwards Real Madrid, Salzburg and Pachuca will fight for the last two places in the knockout phase.
Bonus video:
