Chelsea have advanced to the Club World Cup quarter-finals after defeating Benfica 4-1 in a dramatic match that went into extra time.
Reece James opened the scoring for the Blues just past the hour mark with a clever free-kick that found its way past Anatoliy Trubin in the Benfica goal.
Minutes before the scheduled end of regular time, extreme weather conditions forced a suspension of the match. Following a lengthy two-hour delay, play resumed, and Angel Di Maria successfully converted a penalty for Benfica, levelling the score and sending the tie into extra time.
The additional period saw a significant turn when Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica received a second yellow card almost immediately, leaving his team with ten players.
Chelsea capitalized decisively in the second half of extra time. Goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in quick succession secured a commanding 4-1 victory for the ten men of Chelsea.
Chelsea will now face Palmeiras in the quarter-finals on July 4.
Team Lineups:
- Benfica: Trubin, Dahl, Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Aursnes, Florentino, Barreiro, Kokcu; Di Maria, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
- Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Lavia, Caicedo, Enzo, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Delap
