Chelsea advanced to the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup in the United States at the expense of Benfica on Saturday. The English side won 4-1 after extra time in a match that was halted for almost two hours due to a storm.
Chelsea took the lead in Charlotte in the 64th minute through a goal by Reece James. The match was stopped in the 86th minute due to a storm within 10 kilometers of the stadium. The match was paused for almost two hours.
After a storm passed over Charlotte in North Carolina, Ángel Di María converted a penalty for Benfica in the 95th minute. This forced extra time for the team of Orkun Kökçü and Vangelis Pavlidis.
Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall secured the win for Chelsea in extra time. Their goals came after Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni received his second yellow card. In total, the referee handed out ten yellow cards.
It was the sixth time that a match at the World Cup had been interrupted by a storm. It was the third time that the delay lasted more than an hour. Chelsea eventually won four hours and 38 minutes after the first whistle.
Palmeiras wins Brazilian showdown
Chelsea will face Palmeiras in the quarterfinals next Friday. The team won the Brazilian match against Botafogo 1-0 in Philadelphia after extra time.
Paulinho scored the only goal of the match in the first half of extra time. The former Bayer Leverkusen player cut inside from the right flank and slotted the ball into the far corner. Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gómez received his second yellow card in the final minutes.
Palmeiras had qualified for the knockout stage as group winners, finishing ahead of Inter Miami and FC Porto, among others. Botafogo had progressed as runner-up in the group behind Paris Saint-Germain.