Home SPORTS Chelsea Advances to Club World Cup Quarterfinals with 4-1 Win Over Benfica

Chelsea Advances to Club World Cup Quarterfinals with 4-1 Win Over Benfica

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Chelsea secures a spot in the Club World Cup quarterfinals with a dominant 4-1 win over Benfica. 


Chelsea held their nerve in extra time, securing a 4-1 win over 10-man Benfica in Charlotte to advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals. The Blues dominated from the start, pouring forward in the opening minute in a bid to extend their record of scoring before halftime in all three of their CWC matches.


Palmeiras initially posed a greater threat, with Vitor Roque narrowly missing Joaquín Piquerez's through ball and other half-chances going begging. The match was physical, with few clear scoring opportunities before the cooling break at the half-hour mark, and the second half began with more hard tackles and yellow cards.


The match gained momentum in first-half stoppage time, but it was after halftime that the action intensified. Palmeiras' young star Estêvão burst into life, testing Botafogo goalkeeper John twice before having a third shot ruled out for offside.




Botafogo remained composed under the pressure and started to create chances, with Jefferson Savarino firing a shot over the bar. However, Palmeiras created the best opportunity of the match with about 15 minutes left, when John made an acrobatic save to tip Maurício's close-range header over.


That was it for action in normal time, meaning Botafogo completed a seventh 90 minutes out of their last nine with one or fewer total goals scored.




The reasons for that became clear as the Rio de Janeiro side started ET well but created little of note in the final third, while Palmeiras continued to get their shots away, including when Richard Ríos fired on target from distance.


Palmeiras' direct approach paid off 10 minutes into extra time when substitute Paulinho skillfully turned past Marlon Freitas and slotted the opening goal into the far corner, finally breaking the deadlock.




The Palmeiras fans at the Lincoln Financial Field erupted after Paulinho's goal and remained vocal as Botafogo pushed for an equalizer. Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gómez complicated matters by receiving a second yellow card for fouling Alexander Barboza with four minutes left, but Botafogo couldn't capitalize on the advantage as time expired.




Palmeiras advances to the quarterfinals as Group A winners and will await the winner of Benfica vs Chelsea to learn their next opponent. Botafogo exits the tournament despite previously beating Palmeiras on their way to winning the 2024 Copa Libertadores, and can now focus on defending their Brasileiro Série A title.



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