Chelsea defeated Benfica 4-1 on Saturday evening to advance to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Chelsea started off the more dangerous of the two sides in front of goal, and they came extremely close to taking the lead on two separate occasions in the 20th minute. Marc Cucurella, who found himself in some really good attacking positions early on, sat a Benfica player down in the box and looked to have placed a right-footed shot perfectly in the top corner, but it was headed off the line brilliantly by Antonio Silva. Shortly after the Spaniard's close effort, Chelsea went close yet again, this time through Cole Palmer, who tested the Benfica goalkeeper from a tight angle but couldn't guide his effort into the back of the net.
The first half came to a close with both teams level and the scoreline 0-0. Chelsea were much the better of the two sides going forward. However, they just couldn't convert their chances.
In the 64th minute, the deadlock was finally broken and Chelsea took the lead. It was Reece James who scored the goal, and the English right-back caught out Anatoliy Trubin at his near post, and although more often than not, for goals like this, it is a goalkeeping error, it instead was just a picture-perfect strike from James right into the bottom corner. The match-up to this moment was extremely cagey between both sides, so this strike from James would've given himself and his Chelsea teammates a huge sigh of relief.
In the 80th minute, Chelsea thought they had doubled their lead after Liam Delap rounded the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net. However, the goal was immediately ruled out as he was offside.
With just three minutes left to go, the match was suspended due to adverse weather. Minutes after the suspension was announced, it was revealed that the match would be suspended for at least 40 minutes, then the two teams would come out and play the remaining minutes of the match.
After an almost two-hour delay, the match finally resumed.
In the 94th minute, Benfica were awarded a penalty. A cross was launched deep into the Chelsea penalty area, and it was headed back across, and although it was a harsh decision, the header hit Malo Gusto on the arm while his back was turned, and the referee, after a VAR review, pointed to the spot. Angel Di Maria stepped up to take the penalty and slotted it low and down the middle to equalise and make it 1-1.
The match ended 1-1 at full-time, and the two teams headed to extra time.
Straight after the restart, Benfica found themselves down to 10 men after Gianluca Prestianni was shown a red card. The whole situation surrounding his dismissal was quite confusing as at first, it seemed like he was given a straight red card. However, after further review, it looked like the Argentine was shown a yellow card for his initial tackle, and a further yellow for signalling to the referee to go and look at the VAR screen.
Just minutes after the second period of extra time kicked off, Chelsea retook the lead thanks to a goalmouth scramble goal finished off by Christopher Nkunku. Trubin was once again at the centre of the goal, not for the right reasons, as Chelsea's original shot went through his legs and was not dealt with, and all the Frenchman had to do was tap it in on the line, and he did exactly that.
In the 115th minute, Chelsea put the match to bed and made it 3-1. Pedro Neto found himself through on goal, one-on-one, with Trubin and slotted it neatly and confidently past the Ukrainian to seal his side's spot in the quarter-finals.
Just two minutes after Neto's goal, it went from bad to worse for Benfica as Chelsea made it 4-1. The Portuguese side's tired legs were beginning to show as Chelsea were starting to get opportunity after opportunity on the counter, and that is exactly how they scored their fourth goal through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Dewsbury-Hall's strike was the last action of the match, and Chelsea advanced to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup with a 4-1 victory.
Benfica 1-4 Chelsea - Match Statistics
Benfica
36
8
5
2
7
5
1
Match Highlights
Benfica Player Ratings
Angel Di Maria in action for Benfica in the Club World Cup-1
GK: Anatoliy Trubin - 4.5/10
Made some good saves throughout the match, but for Chelsea's first two goals, Trubin was at fault.
RB: Fredrik Aursnes - 6.5/10
Defensively struggled at times, but the Norwegian caused real problems when he was powerfully driving down the right flank and looking to put crosses into the box.
CB: Antonio Silva - 8/10
Benfica's best player. The young centre-back put in a great all-round performance as not only was he good with the ball at his feet, he also produced some key moments defensively with plenty of blocks and clearances.
CB: Nicolas Otamendi - 7/10
Dealt with Delap well and made a few good blocks and clearances to protect the Benfica goalkeeper in key moments.
LB: Samuel Dahl - 6.5/10
Threatened offensively down the left flank, particularly in the first half. In the second half, the Swede didn't have much involvement in the match, but he didn't necessarily put a foot wrong.
CM: Florentino Luis - 6.5/10
Had plenty of energy in midfield and pressed well, but didn't really contribute anything significant to the match.
CM: Leandro Barreiro - 6.5/10
Worked hard and battled well in midfield, but like his fellow midfield partners, he didn't really have too much significant involvement in the match.
AM: Orkun Kokcu - 5.5/10
Had more of the ball than his other midfield partners, but he didn't really do anything at all with it. Kokcu got into some good areas but opted to pass sideways and backwards as opposed to looking for an attacking option.
RW: Angel Di Maria - 8/10
Kept quiet by Cucurella and didn't really have many promising moments going forward. Despite having a quiet match, Di Maria came alive in extra time and managed to score from the penalty spot.
ST: Vangelis Pavlidis - 6/10
A nuisance at times, but was dealt with relatively easily by the Chelsea defenders.
LW: Andreas Schjelderup - 6/10
Showed some promise on the ball in the first half but was substituted at half-time.
SUB: Kerem Atkurkoglu - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Gianluca Prestianni - 4/10
Didn't do anything in the match other than get sent off.
SUB: Andrea Belotti - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Joao Veloso - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Tiago Gouveia - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Marc Cucurella in action for Chelsea in the Club World Cup
GK: Robert Sanchez - 6/10
Hardly had a save to make as he was protected very well by his defenders.
RB: Reece James - 8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
Had great energy and was very technically sound throughout the match. To cap off his good performance, James scored an exquisite goal in the 64th minute, catching out Trubin at his near post with a free kick.
CB: Levi Colwill - 7.5/10
Hardly misplaced a pass and made lots of really good clearances and recoveries.
CB: Benoit Badiashile - 7/10
Decent with the ball at his feet and made some key blocks and clearances; however, at times, he did look like he switched off from the match.
LB: Marc Cucurella - 7.5/10
Defensively, very solid and managed to keep Di Maria quiet. Cucurella also managed to create some really good chances in attacking areas and was a constant threat in the box for Chelsea.
CM: Moises Caicedo - 8.5/10
Another great all-round midfield performance from the Ecuadorian. Caicedo saw more of the ball than any other player on the pitch, and he was very influential with it. As well as being great with the ball, Caicedo was also very good off the ball and was non-stop pressing and working hard.
CM: Romeo Lavia - 7.5/10
Accompanied Caicedo really well in midfield. The Belgian had some really tidy moments on the ball but was also used as a solid defensive shield.
CM: Enzo Fernandez - 6/10
Battled well in the middle of the park but didn't really contribute anything significant to the match.
RW: Pedro Neto - 8.5/10
A constant attacking threat throughout the match. Neto was Chelsea's biggest creative influence and tormented Dahl, particularly in the second half. The Portuguese international capped off his great performance with a goal in the second half of extra time.
ST: Liam Delap - 5/10
Didn't really get involved in the match and never really had a sniff at goal.
LW: Cole Palmer - 7.5/10
Had some good moments, particularly in the first half, but for the most part, Palmer was kept quiet, but managed to put some dangerous crosses into the box throughout the match.
SUB: Tosin Adarabioyo - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Malo Gusto - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Christopher Nkunku - 7.5/10
Scored a scrappy but important goal off the bench.
SUB: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 7.5/10
Just like Nkunku, Dewbury-Hall didn't do much after coming on, but he still managed to get a goal off the bench.
SUB: Trevoh Chalobah - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.