Chelsea secured their passage to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) with a hard-fought 4-1 victory over Benfica on Saturday. The match, extended to four-and-a-half hours due to a weather delay, saw the Blues net a decisive quickfire treble in extra time to finally overcome their Portuguese opponents.
Chelsea wasted no time asserting their attacking intent from the whistle, flooding bodies forward in the opening minute, eager to maintain their record of scoring before the break in all their CWC fixtures. However, Benfica proved to be a resilient opponent, with goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin denying Pedro Neto just 44 seconds in, and António Silva thwarting Liam Delap moments later.
Marc Cucurella emerged as one of the brightest sparks for Enzo Maresca’s squad, twice threatening to break the deadlock in the first half. He forced a remarkable headed clearance off the goal line by Silva before Trubin produced an equally impressive full-stretch save, ensuring his side went into halftime level.
Despite Chelsea’s persistent efforts against a Benfica side that offered little offensively, the breakthrough eventually arrived. Captain Reece James expertly thumped home a free-kick in the 64th minute after Palmer won the set-piece on the left wing, putting the Blues ahead. Cucurella and Delap combined beautifully with ten minutes remaining, with the Spaniard threading a perfect ball through the defense, only for Delap’s effort to be ruled offside after he had rounded the goalkeeper.
What seemed like a formality for Chelsea’s progression turned into a dramatic twist. A lengthy weather-enforced stoppage with just five minutes left in regulation time disrupted the flow. When play resumed, the script flipped dramatically. Benfica’s Angel Di Maria restored parity from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of stoppage time following an unfortunate handball by Malo Gusto, forcing the match into an additional 30 minutes. However, The Eagles were soon reduced to 10 men when Gianluca Prestianni was shown a red card.
With the looming threat of a penalty shootout, Christopher Nkunku stepped up as Chelsea’s hero, bundling home from close range after some scrappy goalkeeping from Trubin to restore the Blues’ lead. Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall then sealed the comprehensive victory with two late goals in extra time, ensuring Maresca’s men will now face Palmeiras in the final eight.
