Chelsea response to storm setback ‘shows how far we've come'
Chelsea were forced back into their dressing room for almost two hours after a thunderstorm interrupted their last-16 tie against the Portuguese giants in Charlotte with just four minutes remaining.
The Blues had been leading 1-0 at the time courtesy of a superb James free-kick, but Benfica hit back to equalise with a controversial Angel Di Maria penalty after play finally resumed.
That took the clash to extra time, but the sending-off of Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni proved critical and Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners with goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Chelsea can now look forward to a last-eight encounter with Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Friday, but it was the storm delay that was the main talking point at the Bank of America Stadium.
It was the latest of a series of games in the tournament to have been paused because of extreme weather – a situation described as a 'joke' by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who also questioned whether the United States was a suitable host.
James told the club's website: 'It was a very difficult game with a lot of interruptions. The climate wasn't the best, the pitch wasn't the best. It was very slow and hard to play.
'You get to 85 minutes and then the game has to be stopped for a long period of time. It takes a lot out of the players. They cool down and then they need to restart that engine again.
'It's tough, but we're happy we got the job done. To be so close to the end and then have a kick in the teeth, but pick yourself up and dust yourself down and go on again to score three goals – I think it probably shows how far we've come.'
Something special from the skipper! 💫 pic.twitter.com/NOwxfMSJCT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 29, 2025
Until the weather changed the atmosphere, James' 64th-minute strike had looked like being the winner.
Benfica had been expecting the defender to cross from wide on the left, but James instead whipped a curling right-footed shot over the wall and in at the near post.
He said: 'When I was walking over I spoke to the centre-halves and said, 'What do you want?'
'They just said a shot-cross inswinger. I said, 'No problem'. Then I got to the ball and I saw the keeper's position. He showed me too much of the goal so I just decided to shoot.'
With a six-day gap before their next fixture, Maresca has said he will now give the players a couple of days off before beginning preparations to face Palmeiras.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
16 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tammy Abraham closing in on £17million Roma transfer exit to link up with ex-Man Utd boss
TAMMY ABRAHAM is set for a move to Turkey with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besiktas. The England striker has spend the last four seasons in Italy after laving boyhood club Chelsea. 2 Abraham, 27, joined Roma in 2021 and netted 37 times in 120 appearances for I Giallorossi. The 6ft 4in striker spent last season on loan with Italian rivals AC Milan, netting ten times in all competitions. But that wasn't enough to earn a permanent move as Milan suffered a disappointing season. And he could now be set for a new challenge in Turkey's Super Lig. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, a verbal agreement has been made between Roma and Besiktas, with Abraham set to jet in for a medical soon. Abraham would be a statement signing Solskjaer, who took the reins in Turkey in January after a three-year spell away from management following his ill-fated tenure with Manchester United. Abraham will join Besiktas' current front-man Ciro Immobile, who netted 15 league goals last season after making his own switch from Serie A in the summer. His arrival would bolster a squad full of ex-Premier League talent, including Arsenal and Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and ex- Spurs disappointment Gedson Fernandes. 2 The deal would spark Besiktas' quiet transfer window into life, with their only other business so far being making last year's loan signings of Felix Uduokhai and Joao Mario permanent. Roma appointed former Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini as they're new manager earlier this month, throwing Abraham's future into uncertainty. Abraham would be the latest in a series of Roma departures, with midfielder Enzo le Fee, full-back Samuel Dahl and winger Nicola Zalewski all completing permanent moves away from the club this summer. Abraham moved to Italy for a fee of £35m four years ago after he failed to cement himself in the Chelsea set-up.
Metro
20 minutes ago
- Metro
Frankfurt finisher Ekitike could be the answer for Mikel Arteta
Arsenal's long search for a striker capable of scoring the goals to lead them to their first Premier League title in 22 years has switched to another target, Frenchman Hugo Ekitike. The Gunners have been linked with a number of forwards already this summer with Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, Bradley Barcola from Paris-Saint Germain and many others reported to be on their radar. The latest suggestion is Eintracht Frankfurt forward Ekitike is also on their shopping list although there's fierce competition to sign the 23-year-old France international with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United weighing up potential swoops. Ekitike scored 22 goals for the Bundesliga club last season and his finishing is exactly what is required at Arsenal, who were runners-up once again last term with Liverpool easing to the title. Mikel Arteta's long journey to bring his process at Emiratesto fruition and end that unwanted streak without the championship have not been helped by the Reds and Manchester City already making major moves in the transfer market. With Arne Slot having already spent more than £200million on new recruits this summer his chances of signing Ekitike may have to be placed on hold until the expected departure of Darwin Nunez to Serie A champions Napoli is completed. Getting £60million for their Uruguay striker would offset the £40m needed to sign Ekitike and help balance the books with Jarell Quansah on his way to Leverkusen and Andrew Robertson and Harvey Elliott also set to leave Anfield. The Reds are 4/1 with bet365 to win the Ekitike sweepstakes with Chelsea 13/2 with Unibet and BetMGM while all three firms have him heading to Old Trafford at 8/1. Arsenal are 18/1 with Bet Victor which appears a big price if their other attempted bids are falling short. It's interesting to note, however, that the shortest price in the Ekitike transfer market is the 6/4 with bet365 that he is still with Frankfurt when business in the current window is concluded. Alexander Bublik is the dark horse everyone wanted to avoid when the draw was made for the men's singles at Wimbledon. He has enjoyed a marvellous build-up to the grass-court grand slam by winning the title in Halle after beating Jannik Sinner in the last 16 and Daniil Medvedev in the final and he has also showed he has the mental and physical strengths to thrive under pressure when defeating Alex de Minaur and Jack Draper on his way to the French Open quarter-finals. More Trending Back the mercurial Kazakh at 13/10 with Bet Victor to win in straight sets in his open ending match against Spain's Jaume Munar. Double Wimbledon women's champion Petra Kvitova looks as though she will be waving goodbye to SW19 for the last time on day two when she faces Emma Navarro. The 2011 and 2014 queen of the All England Club has announced she's retiring after the US Open in New York in September and the 35-year-old faces a tough task against her American opponent, a quarter-finalist last year. Kvitova may take it to the deciding set but tenth seed Navarro is 16/5 with Ladbrokes and Coral to win 2-1. MORE: Spanish woman drops dead after working in extreme heat as wildfires rage across Turkey MORE: Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham offered Chelsea star after £60m transfer MORE: Haunting audio reveals Idaho firefighters' desperate pleas for help during sniper ambush
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Chelsea have paid Brighton £257MILLION in three years with Joao Pedro becoming 14th player or staff member to be poached
Chelsea have pinched EIGHT members of staff from Brighton - some of which are no longer at Stamford Bridge JOAO ABOUT THAT Chelsea have paid Brighton £257MILLION in three years with Joao Pedro becoming 14th player or staff member to be poached CHELSEA have paid Brighton a whopping £257MILLION over the last few years - enough money to build THREE stadiums. The Blues have pinched 14 players and staff members - the latest being £55million striker Joao Pedro - from their Premier League rivals since Todd Boehly took over as co-owner and chairman in 2022. 5 Chelsea are closing in on a £55m deal for Joao Pedro Credit: Getty 5 Pedro will join the long list of people to join Chelsea from Brighton in recent years Credit: Getty Young stars Zak Sturge and Shumaira Mheuka became the first players to make the switch in the summer window, just over a month into the Boehly era. Full-back Marc Cucurella then followed in a £62m transfer. Then, Chelsea went for Brighton's head coach, Graham Potter. Boehly had made the decision to sack Thomas Tuchel just a few weeks into the 2022-23 season, with Potter viewed as the perfect man to lead the club forward long-term. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL MILLIE DUMPED ME TOO Fresh twist in England ace Millie Bright's 'complicated' love life As part of a deal with Brighton, whereby the Blues paid in excess of £21m in compensation, Potter was joined by five staff members - Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno Saltor, Ben Roberts and Kyle Macauley. However, the 50-year-old was dismissed after just seven months, with everyone bar Macauley and Roberts following him. In December 2022, Paul Winstanley became another person to swap the Amex Stadium for Stamford Bridge when he was appointed sporting director. Chelsea were forced to pay out another compensation package as a result. Join SUN CLUB for the Chelsea Files every Tuesday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Stamford Bridge And in February 2024, Sam Jewell made the switch to lead the club's global scouting network and take charge of player negotiations. Jewell's arrival in west London saw him become the eighth staff member to complete the move from Sussex. What does Brighton player Joao Pedro's controversial 'throat-cutting' goal celebration mean? 5 Chelsea paid in excess of £21 to sign Graham Potter and his staff from Brighton in 2022 Credit: Reuters 5 Moises Caicedo set the Blues back £115m Credit: Alamy One of Chelsea's most expensive signings also came from Brighton. The Blues forked out £115m to sign Moises Caicedo from the Seagulls in August 2023 after fighting off interest from Liverpool. That same month, they also sealed a £25m deal for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. While Caicedo has impressed, Sanchez is now at risk of losing his No1 spot after struggling at Stamford Bridge. Now in line to join the five players who have taken the Brighton to Chelsea pathway is Joao Pedro. Enzo Maresca and Co beat Newcastle to a deal for the striker at the weekend. The 23-year-old is now expected to complete the £55m switch in the coming days. Once the deal is finalised, Chelsea would have spent roughly £257m on Brighton players and personnel over the last three years. That is almost enough money to fund the construction of THREE more Amex Stadiums. As well as Pedro, the UEFA Conference League winners are also closing in on a £55.5 deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens. The 20-year-old has been pushing for a move to London since the start of the transfer window.
