Chelsea in the Club World Cup quarterfinals! Benfica left behind.

The match between Chelsea and Benfica, interrupted by a thunderstorm, ended deep into the night with a dramatic and unexpected result.

Details: The round of 16 clash between Chelsea and Benfica took place in Charlotte, but severe weather forced a halt to proceedings just four minutes before the end of regular time.

The game opened with both sides playing cautiously: Benfica sat deep, displaying disciplined defending, while Chelsea refused to rush forward, wary of costly mistakes. As a result, the first half saw nine shots in total, six of them on target.

Interestingly, the most dangerous player in this period was Chelsea's left-back Marc Cucurella. Midway through the first half, the Spaniard latched onto the ball and unleashed a shot destined for Benfica's top right corner, but a defender managed to get his head to it just in time.

In the 38th minute, it was Cucurella again: cutting in from the flank and closing in dangerously on goal, the defender fired at the near post, only for Anatoliy Trubin to stand tall and parry superbly.

After the break, Chelsea finally found their breakthrough. In the 64th minute, Reece James outfoxed Trubin with a free kick to the near post, breaking the deadlock – 0:1.

The match remained calm, with Chelsea dictating play and denying Benfica any real threat until stoppage time, when Blues defender Malo Gusto handled the ball from a free kick delivery inside his own penalty area. The result – a penalty, which the Argentine veteran Ángel Di María coolly converted.

Extra time

Just two minutes into extra time, Benfica were reduced to ten men: after a reckless challenge, Gianluca Prestianni received his second yellow card and was sent off. Notably, he had only come on as a substitute in the second half and lasted just 23 minutes on the pitch.

The numerical disadvantage sealed Benfica's fate. Chelsea dominated possession with 88% of the ball in extra time, constantly threatening Trubin’s goal. That pressure finally paid off in the 108th minute, when Nkunku pounced to finish from close range and put the Blues ahead – 1:2.

Just six minutes later, Neto doubled Chelsea’s lead, finishing coolly one-on-one with the keeper.

The final blow came from Chelsea’s English midfielder Dewsbury-Hall. Exploiting yet another defensive lapse from Benfica, Dewsbury-Hall raced through on goal and slotted past the keeper, sealing the final score at 1:4.

With this result, Chelsea move on to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they will face Palmeiras. The match is scheduled for July 5.

Read also: Benfica vs Chelsea match suspended four minutes before the end of regular time! What's the reason?