Chelsea Carries Premier League Hopes In Club World Cup

Chelsea is the last Premier League side to remain in this summer’s Club World Cup. The London squad advanced to the quarterfinals when the Blues defeated Benfica last Saturday in a match which took almost five hours to complete. Chelsea, courtesy of a Reese James goal, was leading 1-0 in the 86th minute when warnings of a lightning storm caused the pitch to be cleared. Two hours later, the match resumed. It then seemed Chelsea would put this one to bed with ease after the Portuguese side went down to 10 men two minutes into stoppage time. Unfortunately for the Blues, however, more work was required after a Malo Gusto handball. Angel di Maria equalized the score with his penalty kick just three minutes after teammate Gianluca Prestianni was dismissed with his second booking. The 37-year-old Di Maria, who counts Manchester United as one of his seven career stops and won a Champions League with Real Madrid, is returning to his boyhood club Rosario following this tournament to end his career where it all began. Di Maria’s final goal for Benfica necessitated extra time to end a long day for Chelsea in Charlotte, North Carolina. Benfica would have hoped to hang on for penalties, but Chelsea overwhelmed the undermanned and tiring Portuguese side with a trifecta of goals in the second interval of extra time to win 4-1. Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall provided the goals in a nine-minute blitzkrieg for the Blues.

Chelsea now faces Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarterfinals on Friday. Another weapon could be available for that match in the form of former Brighton star Joao Pedro. The Brazilian forward was signed this week by Chelsea, has already been added to the tournament roster, and is physically present in the United States. Should Chelsea win on Friday, their semifinal matchup will be the winner of the Al-Hilal versus Fluminense match. Al-Hilal knocked a heavyweight from Chelsea’s path when the Saudi Arabians defeated Premier League power Manchester City in a battle of oil financed clubs in the Round of 16. Al-Hilal is principally owned by the Sudi Arabian Public Investment Fund while Manchester City is majority owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Twenty-two-year-old Marcus Leonardo scored two goals, including an extra time winner, to give the Saudi club an exciting 4-3 victory over star studded Manchester City on Monday. Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden found the net in City’s losing effort.

The Saudi side, however, is not without its own familiar Premier League names. Joao Cancelo, a former Manchester City player who had a difficult relationship with Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola, assisted on Al-Hilal’s second goal. Former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly scored to give Al Hilal a 3-2 lead before an equalizing goal by Foden. Reuben Neves, who plied his trade for six seasons at Wolverhampton, then assisted on Leonardo’s winner. The Saudi Arabia club, which also raised eyebrows earlier in the tournament with a draw against Real Madrid, is also helmed by a manager who is well familiar with a big stage. Italian manager Simone Inzaghi joined Al-Hilal just days before the Club World Cup began, shortly after leading Inter Milan to the Champions League final for the second time in three years. Inzaghi and Al-Hilal will face Fluminense in Friday’s other  quarterfinal.

Saturday, meanwhile, features a marquee matchup between PSG and Bayern Munich followed by a battle between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. FIFA officials will be hoping weather cooperates for the quarterfinal contests. Six different matches have been suspended to date due to adverse weather, led by Chelsea’s delay which Manager Enzo Maresca termed a “joke.” The tournament has also been plagued by intense heat which has many questioning the wisdom of playing next summer’s World Cup in North America.