Chelsea stormed into the Club World Cup quarter-finals with a dramatic 4-1 extra-time win over Benfica in a weather-marred last-16 encounter that stretched nearly five hours. The match, played at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina, was paused for close to two hours due to storm protocols, marking the sixth such interruption in the tournament so far.
The Premier League giants appeared to have sealed the win in normal time through Reece James’ clever free-kick in the 86th minute. But chaos ensued as a thunderstorm halted play, allowing Benfica to regroup. When the match resumed, a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision awarded Benfica a penalty in injury time, converted coolly by veteran Ángel Di María to force extra time.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca voiced frustration at the disruption, questioning the organization of the tournament. “I think it’s a joke, it’s not football,” Maresca said. “If you are already suspending six, seven, eight games, it probably means something is not working well.” He insisted Chelsea had been dominant before the break, adding, “For 85 minutes we were in control of the game.”
The extra period initially saw Benfica threaten, despite being reduced to 10 men after Gianluca Prestianni’s dismissal. But Chelsea soon restored their advantage through Christopher Nkunku, who capitalized on a goalkeeping spill from Moisés Caicedo’s shot to make it 2-1.
With Benfica pushing for another equaliser, spaces opened up in their defense, and Chelsea punished them. Substitute Pedro Neto broke away in the 114th minute to calmly slot in the third, further widening the gap and deflating the Portuguese side’s hopes.
Three minutes later, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put the result beyond doubt, finishing off a sweeping move to make it 4-1. Chelsea’s late surge sealed a quarter-final showdown with Brazilian side Palmeiras, keeping their hopes of a global title alive.
Despite the emphatic final score, the night will be remembered as much for the storm as the football. As Maresca summed up, “It turned into something very far from a football match. Thankfully, we got the result we deserved.”
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