Chelsea sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup after beating Portugal’s side Benfica 4-1.
Enzo Maresca believes his players display against Benfica was their best at the Club World Cup.
Maresca highlighted how the two-hour storm delay made it ‘really difficult’ for his side to secure a quarter-final place.
He expressed delight in his players for their hard work and determination to seal off the victory.
”The game was very good for 85 minutes but then we have a two-hour break and it’s not the same game because you break the tempo. Two hours inside. We tried to go out and continue to play in the same way, but it’s difficult.”
‘It’s not random that for 85 minutes, we didn’t concede anything, and then in five minutes [after the restart] we conceded chances.
‘You see they score because they need to chase. We were inside and winning, we go back outside and the mentality is different. It was really difficult.’
Captain and full-back Reece James scored a stunning free kick to break the deadlock in the second half. When it looked like Chelsea were on the verge of sealing a slender 1-0 victory, FIFA officials halted the encounter due to extreme weather. The teams would continue where they left off after nearly two hours.
Benfica were the sole beneficiary of the delayment as the Portuguese giants scored the equalising goal to send the game to extra time.
Malo Gusto was was guilty of a handball inside the box, and Argentina wing wizard Angel Di Maria calmly converted from a post kick.
Benfica’s chances of winning the game were drastically impeded when they were reduced to 10 men. Gianluca Prestianni received his second booking following a reckless challenge. From that moment the flood gates opened, as the Blues scored three goals to secure a commanding victory.
Christopher Nkunku put Chelsea with a close range strike in the 108th minute. Then, Pedro Neto made it three goals, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wrapped up the scoring.
Chelsea will now take on Palmeiras of Brazil who beat Botofogo to secure their place in the last eight.
