CHARLOTTE - Chelsea scored three times in the second period of extra-time to hand 10-man Benfica a 4-1 defeat in Charlotte in their weather-affected last 16 Club World Cup clash as the English side set up a quarterfinal meeting with Brazil’s Palmeiras.
Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored in a nine-minute spell to take Enzo Maresca’s side through after the teams had been forced off the pitch for almost two hours due to a lightning storm. Chelsea had taken the lead through Reece James in the 64th minute and, after the teams returned to the field, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was sent off two minutes into injury time.
But Angel di Maria scored from the penalty spot three minutes later to take the game into extratime, from where Chelsea eventually prevailed to set up their meeting with Palmeiras on Friday. “Very proud, the performance for me was top until 85 minutes when they stopped the game and it started a completely different game,” said Maresca. “When you are inside for more than one hour, it’s not easy, but 1-1 and then we continued to play and the reward was the one that we deserved.”
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Chelsea captain James showcased his set-piece prowess to give the Premier League side the lead, breaking the deadlock in the 64th minute when he curled home a sublime free kick. The match was halted five minutes from time due to a lightning storm near the Bank of America Stadium, activating the weather protocol and resulting in a break of almost two hours as teams and supporters were moved out of exposed areas. Upon the teams’ return, Prestianni was sent off for a second bookable offence seven minutes after the restart, but Benfica were given hope when di Maria scored from the penalty spot following Malo Gusto’s handball. Chelsea, though, made the most of their one-man advantage in extra-time.
Nkunku put Chelsea back in front three minutes into the second period when he lifted the ball over Nicolas Otamendi with an astute finish after Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin had blocked Moises Caicedo’s initial shot. Six minutes later Neto hit Chelsea’s third with a composed finish as he raced in on goal, having been found by Caicedo. Dewsbury-Hall completed the scoring in the 117th minute when he was released into space by Cole Palmer.
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**SUPER-SUB PAULINHO FIRES PALMEIRAS PAST BOTAFOGO INTO QUARTERS**
Paulinho came off the bench to score a dramatic extra-time winner as Palmeiras edged out fellow Brazilians Botafogo 1-0 to book their place in the Club World Cup quarterfinals. The match, played in Philadelphia’s sweltering summer heat, remained goalless after 90 minutes of cagey and ill-tempered football.
In the 100th minute, Paulinho delivered the decisive moment, cutting in from the right, dribbling past two defenders and firing a low angled shot into the bottom corner, beyond the reach of Botafogo keeper John.Botafogo pushed for an equaliser but failed tocapitalise, even after Palmeiras were reduced to 10 men when Gustavo Gomez received a second yellow card for a tactical foul.Palmeiras will next face Benfica or Chelsea on Friday in Philadelphia.