PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Luiz Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored to lead Flamengo over Esperance 2-0 on Monday night in the Club World Cup.
After the Brazilian team dominated possession for 17 minutes, de Arrascaeta opened the scoring off a cross from Araujo.
Araujo scored in the 70th from an assist by Jorginho, a 33-year-old midfielder who left Arsenal ahead of the tournament. Jorginho was a 2021 Club World Cup champion with Chelsea.
Lincoln Financial Field brimmed with energy for the entire game thanks to 25,797 Flamengo and Esperance fans, well short of the 67,594 capacity.
Key Moment
In the 66th minute, Esperance had a chance to tie the score with a counterattack led by Youcef Belaili, but Agustin Rossi made a crucial save to keep Flamengo in the lead.
Takeaways
Flamengo put itself in good position in Group D heading into matches against Chelsea on Friday and Los Angeles FC on June 24. Esperance needs to rebound against LA on Friday and Chelsea on June 24 if it hopes to advance.
What they said
“We’re very happy because the fans made a great effort to be here, and we were able to repay them with a victory." — Flamengo goalkeeper Agustin Rossi.
“Our fans are used to traveling. They're always with us, they always push with us. We thank them and ask them to stay with us for the upcoming games. We will try to do everything we can to make them happy.” — Esperance defender Mohamed Wael Derbali.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mario Rodriguez Canuto, The Associated Press
