Christopher Nkunku (L) of Chelsea scores a goal against Benfica in a round of 16 match at the FIFA Club World Cup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 28, 2025. /VCG
Christopher Nkunku (L) of Chelsea scores a goal against Benfica in a round of 16 match at the FIFA Club World Cup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 28, 2025. /VCG
Christopher Nkunku scored off a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Benfica 4-1 in a FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 match at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday. The contest was delayed for two hours due to lightning, and took nearly five hours to complete.
Nkunku's tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute, with Benfica playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moises Caicedo's left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the center of the net by goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku reacted immediately to bury the deflection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates.
Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals for the final margin.
Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.
With four minutes left, the game was stopped due to lightning, and delayed for two hours. When the teams returned, Chelsea's Malo Gusto was whistled for a handball in stoppage time.
Angel Di Maria converted the penalty kick to level the score, but that was the only time his side found the net.
Chelsea advanced to meet Palmeiras in the quarterfinals on Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 earlier in the day.
Paulinho (C) of Palmeiras reacts after scoring a goal against Botafogo in a round of 16 match at the FIFA Club World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 28, 2025. /VCG
Paulinho (C) of Palmeiras reacts after scoring a goal against Botafogo in a round of 16 match at the FIFA Club World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 28, 2025. /VCG
**Paulinho scores in extra time for Palmeiras to defeat Botafogo**
In the day's other last 16 game, Paulinho worked his way between a pair of defenders and rolled a shot into the back of the net in extra time, sending Palmeiras into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Brazilian rivals Botafogo in Philadelphia.
Paulinho, who has made one appearance for Brazil's national team, dribbled through the defense with an inside cut from the right wing in the 100th minute. He then sent a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of goalkeeper John's net.
Botafogo created multiple chances for an equalizer in the final minutes, but couldn't come up with a goal.
The match at Lincoln Financial Field was full of attacking football with a combined 35 shot attempts. Palmeiras, however, ended the battle with 10 men after defender Gustavo Gomez picked up a red card.
Gomez received a second yellow card in the 116th minute after tackling Igor Jesus at midfield to prevent Botafogo from launching a counterattack.
The 33,657 fans in attendance helped set the tone for the game with incessant cheering, taking the flavor of a South American showdown to the United States.
Source(s): AP