Jobe Bellingham scored on his first start for Borussia Dortmund as the Bundesliga giants beat Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3 at the Club World Cup on Saturday.
Bellingham opened his Dortmund account on the stroke of half-time in Cincinnati, with the former Sunderland midfielder’s deflected volley providing a 3-1 interval advantage.
Lucas Ribeiro gave the Sundowns a shock 11th-minute lead with a brilliant strike. Felix Nmecha capitalised on an error from Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams five minutes later, and Serhou Guirassy nodded Dortmund ahead before Bellingham’s special moment.
Khuliso Mudau’s own goal added to Sundowns’ misery and the tie appeared over. But there was late drama from the South Africans as Iqraam Rayners and substitute Lebo Mothiba set up a grandstand finish.
“I'm sweating like I've just come out of a sauna,” said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac when asked about the conditions in a game which started at midday local time.
“It was tough going for both teams, but the opposition are used to it. We certainly didn't give our best performance, but that wasn't possible today.”
Fluminense given a fright
South Korea's Ulsan gave Fluminense a real scare in their Group F clash at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, leading 2-1 until the 66th minute before the Brazilians ran out 4-2 winners, eliminating the K-League champions in the process.
Colombian striker Jhon Arias put Fluminense ahead with a 27th minute free-kick but goals from Lee Jin-hyun and Um Won-sang gave Ulsan the advantage at the break.
Nonata levelled for the Brazilians in the 66th minute before Juan Freytes put Fluminense ahead in the 83rd minute, slotting home after a scramble in the box.
Keno added a fourth in stoppage time to leave Fluminense on top of the group, level on 4 points with Borussia Dortmund ahead of their final game against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns in Miami on Wednesday.
A win or draw for the Rio club in their final group game will ensure their passage into the last 16.
Inter Milan claim first win
Inter Milan came from behind to beat Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1 to record their first win in the US and also knock the Japanese side out of the Club World Cup.
At Lumen Field in Seattle, Ryoma Watanabe got an early opening goal for Urawa Reds, who were backed by a noisy contingent of their supporters.
But captain Lautaro Martinez – who got Inter's equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Monterrey of Mexico in their opening game – repeated the trick to level matters with a clever overhead kick 12 minutes from time.
Valentin Carboni was then the unlikely hero as he grabbed the winner two minutes into injury time. The 20-year-old Argentine had not played a competitive game since early October after suffering a serious knee injury while on loan at Marseille.
Carboni had not made an appearance for Inter in over two years, but he was on to hand to sidefoot home when the ball fell to him in the area.
“Our opponents play with their hearts and to counter that as a team we need to play with more pride, be humble and know how to suffer,” Martinez told broadcaster DAZN.
The result left some Urawa fans in tears and Inter level on four points with River Plate with the two teams meeting next.
In the same group, River Plate were let down by their finishing in a scrappy, foul-ridden 0-0 encounter with Mexico's Monterrey, who sit on two points.
Esteban Andrada, Monterrey's Argentine keeper, made a series of saves while River's forwards were unable to put away the few chances that came their way.
Monterrey could still make it into the last 16 if they beat Urawa and River or Inter win their game.
