2025 FIFA Club World Cup Round 16: City stunned, Real Madrid seal slim victory

The Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup came to a close in a fabulous fashion as we witnessed very intriguing and exciting results over eight games.

On Saturday, June 28, Brazilian outfits Palmeiras and Botafogo faced off against each other in the first Round 16 fixture as the Brazilians battled it out until the end of regulation time in a goalless stalemate.

The game went into extra time and Palmeiras emerged victorious on the night, edging past their compatriots in a 1-0 victory via a Paulinho goal when he shot a fine left footed shot in the 18-yard box past the Botafogo goalkeeper who stretched so hard but could not get hold of the ball as 2021 finalists, Palmeiras sealed a quarter final spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

The second game of the night came to light as Chelsea faced off against Portuguese side SL Benfica where they locked horns in a 5-goal thriller.

It first came off from a 64th free kick goal for Chelsea via captain Reece James who unbelievably sent home a fabulous free kick from distance to grab the lead for the English side.

The game went on to the 84th minute when it got truncated and and was halted due to adverse weather conditions, rendering the game unplayable for about 2 hours before the return to finish the game.

With 5 minutes left to play, SL Benfica won a penalty which was dispatched by Argentinian star Angel Di Maria. The game went on into extra time after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.

Chelsea came back in the first quarter of an hour with different ideas, piling pressure on their opponents from the blast of the whistle until their work was paid off with a fine finish from Nkunku who shot home a brilliant shot from the 6-yard box after the Benfica defender had put his body on the line to clear a goal which was beautifully executed by Caicedo on the 108th minute.

Chelsea went on to score two additional goals to seal a quarter final berth at the expense of SL Benfica who in the end lost 4-1 to the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup champions.

The second day of Round 16 games came to fruition as PSG held Inter Miami to a 4-0 victory in  what could be described as a molesting thrashing of Messi’s side as the European champions had no struggles to score all four goals.

PSG coach, Luis Enrique reunited with former player whom he managed back in Barcelona, Javier Mascherano who guided Inter Miami to the Round 16 stage of the competition but his former boss still taught him a lesson in the dugout as his side lost 4-0 to his former boss.

A brace from Joao Neves, an own goal by Aviles and another goal by Achraf Hakimi hit the head of the nail on the coffin to see off Inter Miami in a commanding fashion.

The second game between Brazilian side Flamengo and Bayern Munich ended in a 6-goal thriller when the 2013 and 2020 European champions beat their opponents in a 4-2 victory.

Flamengo’s former AS Roma midfielder, Erik Pulgar opened the scoring for their opponents with an own goal very early in the game on 6 minutes before Harry Kane scored the second for his side.

Gerson pulled one back for Flamengo with an incredible strike from distance before Leon Goretzka increased the deficit to a 3-1 lead on the 41st minute.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder, Jorginho converted a spot kick to decrease the deficit to 3-2 before Harry Kane grabbed his second of the night to seal a 4-2 victory for Vincent Kompany’s side.

On Monday, June 30, Italian side Inter Milan were defeated by Brazilian side Fluminense in a 2-0 loss as they Brazilians remained steadfast throughout the game, piling pressure on their opponents as they opened the scoring on the third minute through a header by 37 year old German Cano who hit a header from a cross which beat all the Inter defenders as he hit it below to penetrate in between the legs of Yann Sommer to open the scoring.

They went on to grab the second goal through Hercules in the dying embers of the game on the 93rd minute as he hit a finessed shot past Sommer from distance to seal a 2-0 victory, earning them a spot in the quarterfinals.

On Tuesday, July 1, English powerhouse Manchester City faced off against Saudi outfit, Al Hilal as they battled it out in a 7-goal thriller when Al Hilal emerged victorious.

City opened the scoring through Bernardo Silva who scored on the 9th minute before Al Hilal replied formidably with two goals from Marcos Leonardo and Malcom on the 46th and 52nd minutes respectively. Manchester City equalized three minutes after through goal monger, Erling Haaland which held the game in a higher fashion till the end.

The game went into extra time and under 4 minutes, former Chelsea defender, Kalidou Koulibaly scored the third for Al Hilal before Phil Foden responded with just a minute to end the first half of extra time.

The game went on until the 112th minute when Marcos Leonardo grabbed his second of the game, dispatching City in a 7-goal thriller to seal a stunning victory to clinch a place in the quarterfinals.

The final game  of the day which was between Real Madrid and Juventus was an incredible one as the game ended 1-0 in favor of the 15-time European champions.

An early chance squandered by Randal Kolo Muani on the third minute changed the complexion of the game from then as Real Madrid kept pushing to get the lead as Juventus also kept pushing, locking horns with their opponents the 54th minute when Real Madrid Castilla striker who has now been promoted to the first team, Gonzalo Garcia connected a sublime cross from Trent Alexander Arnold who had initially launched into the penalty box with some spectacular crosses but to no avail.

The youngster headed home the ball from thw cross to put his side up after Juventus goalkeeper, Michelle Di Gregorio had denied Real Madrid so many opportunities with his impressive and brilliant saves to keep the Spanish side at bay.

The final game of the round saw Borussia Dortmund edge Mexican side FC Monterrey in a 2-1 win when German star, Karim Adeyemi provided a brace of assists for Guinean striker, Serhou Guirassy who also hit a brace on the night as against a Berterame goal for Monterrey, being the only consolation for the Mexican side, which saw Dortmund seal a place in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Quarterfinals will see Brazilian side Fluminense face off against Saudi side Al Hilal, whilst Palmeiras face Chelsea just like the 2021 final.

PSG will lock horns with Bayern Munich as it happened in the 2020 UEFA Champions League final, as Real Madrid face Dortmund again just as the 2023 Champions League final.