'It's not normal' - how Chelsea coped with the stoppage

BBC News

a day ago

"This is not football."The words of Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca when asked about how the one-hour-53-minute stoppage impacted their Club World Cup last-16 tie against Benfica.Blues defenders Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo were furious when pulled off the pitch - as was Maresca - having been on course to win with only five minutes of normal time remaining.After re-entering the operations and dressing room area, players took turns to cycle on exercise bikes to keep their muscles warm and did kick-ups to stay fresh at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.Maresca explained the mood and why it impacted performance, adding: "So two hours inside - people speak with the family outside [to check] if they were good with the security. People eating, laughing, talking on their mobiles. It was two hours. That's why I said it's not football."Captain Reece James added: "It was quite disruptive when you're in the flow of the game. Lots of substitutions - trying to get warm and stay warm. It was difficult and the climate was very hot and humid."A senior Chelsea official admitted to confusion and relief around the senior staff after the match."You cannot be inside for two hours. It is something completely new," Maresca said."I can understand that for security reasons you suspend the game. But if you suspend six, seven games that means that probably is not the right place to do this competition."This is a fantastic competition. The Club World Cup is top; we are happy to be in the last eight."It's not normal to suspend a game. In a World Cup, how many games are suspended? Probably zero. In Europe, how many games? Zero."