SportsPosted at: Jun 29 2025 9:52AM


Chelsea, Palmeiras to meet in Club World Cup quarters after extra-time drama

New York, June 29 (UNI) Chelsea scored three goals in extra time to beat Benfica 4-1 and set up a Club World Cup quarterfinal with Palmeiras, which edged past Botafogo 1-0 courtesy of a 100th-minute strike from Paulinho.
The Premier League side overcame a late equalizer and a near two-hour storm delay in Charlotte to pull away in the added 30 minutes.
Chelsea captain Reece James struck with a 64th-minute free kick before Angel Di Maria equalized with a stoppage-time penalty following a Malo Gusto handball on Saturday.
Benfica was reduced to 10 men early in extra time when Gianluca Prestianni was sent off for a second booking.
Chelsea made the advantage count as Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall sealed the progression.
"I'm very happy because we are in the last eight teams of this fantastic competition," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said after the match, which took more than four hours to complete.
"For 85 minutes, we didn't concede anything and had enough chances to win the game. It was probably one of our best performances in the last two weeks or the last month."
The Italian admitted his players had struggled to deal with the weather interruption.
"When you have a two-hour break it's not the same game because you break the tempo. We tried to go out and continue to play in the same way, but it's difficult. "It's not random that for 85 minutes, we didn't concede anything, and then in five minutes [after the restart] we conceded chances. You see they score because they need to chase. We were inside and winning, we go back outside and the mentality is different. It was really difficult."
Earlier in Philadelphia, a 100th-minute strike from substitute Paulinho gave Palmeiras a 1-0 victory over Botafogo in their all-Brazilian round-of-16 duel.
Following 90 minutes with few chances, Paulinho - a 64th-minute replacement for Vitor Roque -
broke the deadlock in extra time with a low finish into the far corner.
The match took another turn when Palmeiras defender Gustavo Gomez was sent off for a second yellow card six minutes later. Botafogo dominated the closing stages and almost found an equalizer when Joaquin Correa's delivery to the back post was met by Vitinho, who could only drill it into the side netting.
Palmeiras survived to become the first team to progress to the competition's last eight.
"It was a fair victory," Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira told reporters. "We tried to win from the
first to the last second. As we always do, but not always in the same way."
Ferreira admitted that Botafogo's 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage forced Palmeiras to adopt a different approach.
"We saw how well Botafogo defended against Paris Saint-Germain and we realized that if we played that way we would hit the wall," he said, before praising the reigning Brazilian Serie A and Copa Libertadores champions.
"The game showed how balanced Brazilian football is. I told my dear friend Renato Paiva (Botafogo's manager) beforehand that no matter what happens today, one of us will get through and continue to represent Brazil."
Paiva reflected positively on Botafogo's performance, expressing gratitude to his players.
"The first feeling I had when the referee blew his whistle, regardless of the result, was one of pride," he said. "Pride in the journey we've been on and the effort the players put in against a strong team that we knew well. The game was decided by small details."
UNI/XINHUA BM
Tags: #Chelsea# Palmeiras to meet in Club World Cup quarters after extra-time drama
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