Chelsea defeats Benfica after 4 hours and 38 minutes of soccer amidst a thunderstorm.

4 hours 38 minutes

1

Anatolii Trubin, Samuel Dahl, Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Fredrik Aursnes (Tiago Gouveia, min. 85), Florentino (Gianluca Prestianni, min. 69), Leandro Barreiro, Orkun Kökçü (João Veloso, min. 84), Andreas Schjelderup (Kerem Aktürkoglu, min. 45), Vangelis Pavlidis (Andrea Belotti, min. 69) and Ángel Di María

4

Robert Sánchez, Reece James (Malo Gusto, min. 79), Benoît Badiashile (Tosin Adarabioyo, min. 69), Levi Colwill (Aarón Anselmino, min. 117), Marc Cucurella, Roméo Lavia (Trevoh Chalobah, min. 85), Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, min. 80), Moisés Caicedo and Liam Delap (Christopher Nkunku, min. 80)

Goals
0-1 min. 63: Reece James. 1-1 min. 94: Di María. 1-2 min. 107: Nkunku. 1-3 min. 113: Pedro Neto. 1-4 min. 116: Kieran Dewsbury-Hall

Referee Slavko Vincic

Yellow Cards
Vangelis Pavlidis (min. 49), Moisés Caicedo (min. 60), Florentino (min. 62), Orkun Kokcu (min. 82), Cole Palmer (min. 91), Antonio Tavares Da Sila (min. 91), Gianluca Prestianni (min. 95), Levi Colwill (min. 101), Tiago Gouveia (min. 120)

Red Cards
Gianluca Prestianni (min. 91)

Everything seemed so clear for so long that it was normal to think that only the heavens could save Benfica. Even if one feels averse to clichés. And then, with just five minutes left for Chelsea, who were leading 0-1, to reach the quarter-finals against Palmeiras, the heavens intervened. Lightning struck somewhere less than 13 kilometers from the Charlotte stadium, and the referee stopped the match to comply with the safety protocol for storms with electrical activity. Nearly two hours passed without play. When the game resumed, most of the 25,000 spectators had already gone home, convinced that everything was decided in a one-sided match. But no. Chelsea advanced to the quarters, but not following that straightforward script, instead overcoming the effects of the storm that led them to an overtime in which they overwhelmed the Portuguese.

But before, Benfica had revived after the two electric hours spent in the locker room. Especially with Di María’s endless talent. The Argentine took charge in those critical moments and in injury time caused a foul that sent the ball floating into the area. After a header attempt, the ball hit Malo Gusto’s extended arm, a touch detected by VAR. Di María, of course, expertly converted the penalty down the middle, further extending one of the longest matches in history, the last for the Argentine in Benfica and in Europe.

The rules require stopping the match for half an hour if electrical activity is detected around the stadium. As more lightning struck during that initial pause, the wait extended: each recorded strike forces a restart of the 30-minute countdown. The game in Charlotte was the sixth match affected during the Club World Cup.

The two hours of storm transformed a tie that had been lifeless for some time into a situation that led to overtime in which Benfica revived even after suffering Prestiani’s expulsion. They had several counter-attack opportunities until the English imposed logic in a crazy afternoon. Nkunku, Neto, and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall scored, and what seemed destined to happen since they began playing over four and a half hours earlier, finally occurred.

Chelsea dominated the scene from the beginning, with Benfica barely appearing. The English team managed the ball to their liking, with moments of pause and others of acceleration. Maresca’s plan worked. They found ways to threaten on the right with Neto or on the left with Palmer and Cucurella. The Englishman’s combinations were most indecipherable for Benfica. Through the center with Delap, when he appeared between lines. Or on the right with Cucurella. If he showed up on that side, the gravitational pull with which Palmer attracted defenses freed up space for the fullback, who had the clearest chances in the area. The first, aimed at the top corner, was headed away by António. The second was thwarted by the goalkeeper, Trubin, a giant who stretched to clear the one-on-one with his right arm.

The young Portuguese center-back and the Ukrainian goalkeeper were holding up a Benfica that the ball slipped through as if it were liquid. Only when Di María appeared did they find any path towards Robert Sánchez without having to immediately rush back. Everything else was resistance, waiting for the time to pass and the Chelsea pressure to ease. Or for the heavens to intervene, of course.

Chelsea only found reward in surprise, an isolated moment disconnected from the flood of play. It was a lateral free kick, the kind that ends up with crosses into the area. But Reece James had another idea. He saw a gap between the two players in the wall, the post, and Trubin’s position, focused on the headers. And through there, he slid in the goal destined to end the tie, as Benfica had barely released a couple of bursts of defiance. Pure smoke. Until the lightning came. And Di María revived Benfica. And Chelsea experienced a few minutes of hesitation, which they overcame to finally reach the quarters, four hours and 38 minutes after they began searching for them.