Club World Cup, the never-ending challenge: Chelsea-Benfica lasts almost 5 hours

CHARLOTTE – The most absurd match of this Club World Cup lasted 4 hours and 38 minutes between regular time, suspension for risk of storm and extra time. Practically a Wimbledon final. It started at 4 pm local time and ended at 8:38 pm . And Chelsea won, having been caught up by Benfica at 1-1 at the end of regular time, but who scored three goals in extra time. They will meet Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.

Fans who fled and returned

Final result: Benfica 1 and Chelsea 4. But the score is not the most notable thing about a match that will be remembered forever, with fans who fled and then rushed back to the stadium , policemen and ticket collectors who turned away allowing access to anyone who wanted it, and supporters of the two teams who ended up hugging each other in the stands, equally exhausted after almost five hours of passion .

The English advantage and the suspension

The match started at 4:00 p.m. local time and was suspended in the 86th minute . A few drops of rain fell on Charlotte, but in this tournament the rule is to suspend the match if lightning strikes less than 10 km away . At the time of the suspension, Chelsea were leading 1-0, thanks to a goal scored by James in the 64th minute. The stadium, already half empty at the start of the match, emptied even more: very unlikely, thousands of spectators thought, that Benfica could recover in the few minutes left to play, in case the match were to resume.

The resumption after 4 hours from the kick-off

The final minutes of the match were played starting at 19:47, after the OK from the American authorities. And after the restart of the game, in the almost deserted stadium, the referee whistled a penalty in favor of Benfica for a handball by Malo Gusto. When Di Maria scored from the spot, the fifth minute of injury time had already begun. At that point, when the referee blew his whistle three times, it was already 19:56. Since the start of the match, taking into account the long suspension, almost four hours had passed .

The return of the fans to the stadium

Many of the fans who had left the stadium during the rain delay — and who in the meantime had scattered among the bars of downtown Charlotte — once they received the news that the match had resumed, and that the Portuguese had tied, rushed back to Bank of America Stadium to watch the extra time. Stewards and police, faced with the running fans, stepped aside to allow them to see what was left of the game, without wasting time.

Chelsea's three goals at the end

The spectacle witnessed by the very few fans who remained inside the stadium, and those who managed to return, is one that is unforgettable: between the 108th and 117th minute, Chelsea scored three more goals, with Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Dewsbury-Hall. The decisive factor, at the start of extra time, was Prestianni's expulsion , which left Benfica with ten men. “Somehow this strange match goes down in football history and I’m so happy to have been there. I’m sorry it didn’t happen in the Champions League , I would have cried all my tears, but I’m happy with the emotions I felt,” says Phil, a Londoner living in Atlanta, who came to Charlotte specifically to see a match he will never forget, as he leaves the stadium.