Club World Cup: Chelsea defeat Benfica as Maresca fumes over match delay
Chelsea Football Club recorded a 4-1 win over Benfica in the round of sixteen of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in America.
Following their victory, which was pegged back by two-hour weather delay, Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said the United States might not have been the right destination for the tournament.
In his frustration and anger over the match delay, Maresca fumes: ‘It’s a joke! It’s NOT football!’
I think it’s a joke to be honest, it’s not football. I struggle to understand. I can understand that for security reasons, you suspend the game.
“But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means that probably [this] is not the right place to do this competition”
Club World Cup: Chelsea Defeat Benfica
After the round of 16 match took almost five hours to complete due to unfavourable weather, Maresca described the situation as “a joke” and “not a football.”
The East London club emerged 4-1 victors over the Portuguese side after extra-time in a match delayed by thunderstorm for almost two hours.
The Blues were already cruising to victory courtesy Reece James’ stunning free-kick when the players were taken off the pitch and fans were asked to leave the stands at the Bank of America Stadium.
During the break, the players were spotted riding exercise bikes and kicking balls within the dressing room, but, when they eventually returned onto the pitch, fortune smiled at Benfica and were awarded a controversial penalty which Angel Di Maria converted.
The luck’s pendulum swung back in favour of Chelsea after Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni was red carded, and Christopher Nkunku decisively restored Chelsea’s lead. Goals from Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall ensured the Premier League club a win.
At various centres, storms have now caused six matches to be suspended during this tournament, which has made the Chelsea boss suggest that the US was not the right destination for the tournament.
Club World Cup: Chelsea Defeat Benfica
Chelsea win over Benfica means they will face Pameiras in the quarterfinals of the competition.
“For 85 minutes we were in control of the game,” Maresca said.
“After the break, the game changed completely. For me it’s not football. It’s already seven, eight, nine games that they suspended.
“I think it’s a joke to be honest, it’s not football. It’s not for us. You cannot be inside. I struggle to understand. I can understand that for security reasons, you suspend the game.
“But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means that probably [this] is not the right place to do this competition.”
Maresca on this enforced break, he added: “It’s a joke. That’s why I said it. if they’ve already suspended six games, probably there is something that is not working.
“I’m not here to decide the rule. I’m no one to decide the rule. I’m the last one. I’m talking as a manager. As a manager, it’s difficult to manage two hours suspended.
Club World Cup: Chelsea Defeat Benfica
“There is some problem for me personally. But I’m not talking─I’m talking as a manager. Because when you are two hours inside and you try to keep them in the game, but for two hours, they are speaking with the family outside for safety reasons.
“They are eating something, they are playing, they are laughing. How can you keep them two hours inside, focused? Then we are happy.
“We are happy to be here. We are happy to be in this competition. But it’s something that it’s not normal for.”
Despite the difficult experience, the Chelsea coach commended his players on their extraordinary, weather-hit victory to reach the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup, ahead of their quarter-final showdown with Palmeiras.
Enzo Maresca in a press conference after the win over Benfica: “I’m very proud. The performance for me was top until the last five minutes when they stopped the game, and when we restarted [it was] a completely a different game.
“When you are inside for more than one hour it’s not easy but, 1-1, we continued to play and, at the end, I think the reward was one that we deserve.
Club World Cup: Chelsea Defeat Benfica
“We are in the last eight teams here in this competition and we are very happy.”
It Is Belief We Can Go Far ─ Caicedo
Following Chelsea’s round of sixteen win over Benfica at the Club World Cup, midfielder Moises Caicedo, who delivered an eye-catching performance and instrumental to the win, is set to miss their quarter-final encounter after receiving his second yellow in the tournament.
While saying viewing how far Chelsea can go in the tournament, Caicedo said: “We believe. We know this a tough tournament but, the thing is, we’re working hard and doing well. At the end, we’re going to see why we (are still) here.”
On the weather delay, the anchorman said: “We were talking in the dressing room. The thing was (to stay) focused the whole game. I’m so happy because we did it.”
‘It Brought About Resilience’ ─ James
Chelsea captain Reece James commended his team-mates on their resilience, stating how he and they coped with the two-hour delay in Charlotte.
James said: James said: “We’ve come a long way. It’s difficult to be so close to the end of the match and then have a kick in the teeth.
“To pick yourself up, brush yourself down and score a few goals probably shows how far we’ve come, and everyone has played a part.
“It was a very difficult game with a lot of interruptions. The climate wasn’t the best, the pitch wasn’t the best, it was hard to play, and we got into 85 minutes, and we stopped for a long period of time.
Club World Cup: Chelsea Defeat Benfica
“It takes a lot out of the players to cool down and then restart that engine again, but we’re happy we got the job done.”
On the delay, he stressed: “It was about recovery, keeping the legs going on the bike, listening to some music to keep the vibes going, and we did well in extra-time to score the goals we did.”
