At the Club World Cup in the United States on Saturday, Chelsea defeated Benfica in a game that lasted for close to five hours before the quarter-final showdown with Brazilian side Palmeiras.
The London club won 4-1 over Benfica thanks to extra-time goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
After a nearly two-hour delay due to the weather, their late burst of scoring at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina resolved the last-16 tie.
Enzo Maresca, the manager of Chelsea, was happy with the victory for his team, but criticized the delay, which had already spanned almost five hours.
Maresca said, “I don’t believe it’s a joke; it’s not football.”
We held the lead in the 85-minute period. We had enough chances to win the game. Then, after the break, the game changed; personally, it’s not football.
Chelsea had already sounded confident in winning the match with four minutes left before Reece James’ opportunistic second-half free kick had given them a 1-0 lead.
However, a storm over Charlotte just as Chelsea began to consider their quarter-final matchup prompted local safety regulations that required the suspension of the game.
READ MORE: Palmeiras defeats Botafogo in extra time at the Club World Cup.
A weather warning has interrupted a game for the sixth time during the Club World Cup.
After Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto was deemed to have handled in the penalty area in response to an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee, play resumed just under two hours later.
Angel Di Maria, an Argentine veteran, scored an ice-cold penalty to make it extra time for Benfica.
Following Gianluca Prestianni’s second yellow card at the end of regulation, Benfica threatened to take the lead in the pursuit of an improbable victory in an end-to-end first half of extra time.
Instead, Nkunku fired back from close range after Moises Caicedo’s low shot was squirted underneath Benfica goalkeeper Antoliy Trubin, who had the ball squirted underneath Chelsea.
Chelsea launched an attack as the game progressed, and Benfica became more vulnerable on the counter-attack.
After going clean through on goal in the 114th minute, Neto made it 3-1 with a nerveless finish, and Dewsbury-Hall added three minutes later to send Chelsea through to the last eight.
On Friday, they will travel to Philadelphia, where they previously lost two games in the group stage, to face Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.
Brazilian Derby is halted by Paulinho
In a battle of attrition earlier on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the Brazilian club were appreciative of Paulinho’s winner at extra-time after winning 1-0 to beat domestic rivals Botafogo 1-0.
The winger started the second half with the addition of teenage sensation Estevao Willian, who initially appeared uninspired but ultimately proved to be inspiring, as Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira did in the first half.
When Paulinho received a pass from Richard Rios on the right flank, the tie reached 100 minutes later, and he had the opportunity to enter the box before slotting a low shot into the far corner.
The majority of the 33, 657 Palmeiras fans were in awe of the fiery celebrations, and the Sao Paulo side held on to win the game despite having captain Gustavo Gomez sent off late on.
“He came because he wanted to play for long enough to decide a game,” he said. After the tournament, Ferreira, who has struggled with injuries since signing for Palmeiras at the start of the year, said, “He is going to have to stop again.”
Palmeiras, who won the Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021, will now hope to elude their Brazilian rival Flamengo, who defeated Chelsea in the group stage.
Paris Saint-Germain take on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Sunday in Atlanta for the last-16 match.
Bayern Munich will face Flamengo in Miami later.
Source: Channels TV
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