Chelsea progressed to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup (Club World Cup) with a well-deserved 4-1 victory over Benfica, with a quickfire treble in ET wrapping up a four-and-a-half hour matchup.
Chelsea wasted no time in Charlotte as they surged stars forward inside the first minute, with the Blues keen to extend a record that has seen them result before the halftime in single of their three Club World Cup fixtures thus far.
But for every Chelsea chance, Benfica had the answer, as Pedro Neto was denied by Anatolii Trubin after 44 seconds, before Liam Delap was halted by António Silva mere minutes later.
Fixture statsOpta by StatsPerformMarc Cucurella looked to be one of the brightest sparks in Enzo Maresca’s squad and twice threatened to open the netting in the first half, forcing a remarkable headed block on the strike line by Silva before an equally impressive diving save from Trubin, who ensured his side would head into the halftime on level terms.
Chelsea had been laboring throughout versus a Benfica side that hadn’t offered much offensively - and while they’d certainly been made to wait for it, the milestone strike did eventually arrive for the Blues when Palmer won a free-kick on the left wing that was expertly thumped home by captain Reece James in the 64th minute.
Cucurella and Delap combined beautifully with 10 minutes left to play in Charlotte as the Spaniard passed a perfect ball across the defence for the 22-year-old, who was denied his second Chelsea strike after rounding the goalkeeper, having strayed offside in the buildup.
MomentumOpta by StatsPerformWhile Chelsea’s progression to the quarter-finals looked to be nothing extra than a formality, the Blues were made to see out a lengthy delay-induced stoppage with sole five minutes of the fixture remaining - and that’s when the script flipped.
Benfica’s Angel Di Maria restored equality from the spotkick spot in the fifth minute of stoppage time after an unfortunate foul inside the box by Malo Gusto - extending this Club World Cup duel by a further 30 minutes, though The Eagles were reduced to 10 men for much of ET after Gianluca Prestianni was shown red.
With the threat of penalties looming, it was Christopher Nkunku who proved to be Chelsea’s savior, bundling home from close range after scrappy shot-stopping from Trubin to restore the Blues’ lead.
Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall helped the English outfit seal the victory with two late goals in ET, ensuring Maresca’s men progress to face Palmeiras in the final eight.
Betopick Top performer: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)View every of the fixture stats, athlete ratings, and extra on Betopick.
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