Chelsea Survive Four-Hour Epic to Eliminate Benfica from Club World Cup
Chelsea have booked their place in the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic 4-1 extra-time victory over Benfica — in a match that lasted nearly four hours due to severe weather delays.
It was heartbreak for Anatoliy Trubin and the Portuguese side, who exit the tournament at the Round of 16 stage. Despite the heavy final scoreline, the Ukrainian goalkeeper delivered a stellar performance, making seven crucial saves to keep his team in the contest for much of the night.
The match was packed with drama from start to finish. Benfica’s veteran forward Ángel Di María rolled back the years with a clutch equaliser in the fifth minute of added time, sending the game into extra time. But the game was disrupted for over 90 minutes due to adverse weather conditions, echoing scenes more familiar to the Ukrainian Premier League than a global tournament.
The turning point came just after regulation time. On the 92nd minute, young talent Gianluca Prestianni was shown a red card, leaving Benfica with ten men for the entirety of extra time. Chelsea capitalised ruthlessly, scoring three unanswered goals in the second period of extra time to seal a commanding win.
2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Benfica - Chelsea 1:4 (0:0)
Goals: James R., 64 (0:1); Di Maria, 90 (penalty) (1:1); Nkunku, 108 (1:2); Pedro Neto, 114 (1:3); Dewsbury-Hall, 117 (1:4)
Benfica: Trubin; Silva A.; Dahl; Otamendi; Aursnes (Gouveia Tiago, 86); Kökçü; Di Maria; Pavlidis E. (Belotti, 70); Barreiro L.; Schjelderup (Aktürkoglu, 46); Florentino (Prestianni, 70)
Bench: Fernandez Ál.; Oliveira; Wynder; Leandro Santos; Bajrami Adrian; Bruma; Rego Joao; Prioste
Yellow Cards: Pavlidis E. 50; Florentino 63; Kökçü 83; Silva A. 90; Prestianni 90, 92; Gouveia Tiago 121
Red cards: Prestianni 92'
Chelsea: Sanchez Ro.; Badiashile B. (Adarabioyo, 69); Colwill (Anselmino, 118); James R. (Gusto, 80); Cucurella; Lavia (Chalobah, 86); Fernandez E. (Dewsbury-Hall, 80); Palmer Co.; Caicedo M.; Pedro Neto; Delap (Nkunku, 80)
Bench: Penders; Slonina; Sarr; Acheampong J. K.; Essugo; Madueke; Andrey Santos; George; Guiu Marc
Yellow Cards: Caicedo M. 61; Palmer Co. 92; Colwill 102
