Chelsea 4-1 Benfica (28 Jun, 2025) Game Analysis

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 on Saturday 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 while Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was sent off two minutes into injury time.

But Ángel Di María scored from the penalty spot three minutes later to salvage a draw for the Portuguese side, taking the game into extra time from where Chelsea eventually prevailed to set up their meeting with Palmeiras on Friday.