The Chelsea advanced to the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup over the weekend after a 4-1 victory over the Benfica at the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina.
But the score was not the main point of conversation: it was the massive delay.
With Chelsea leading 1-0 thanks to a release by Reece James James, the game was suddenly suspended with only four minutes left on the clock due to serious storm warnings in Charlotte.
The fans were evacuated, while the players were launched on the pitch and returned to the locker room, where they waited 113 minutes before the game finally resumed.
So what did the players do during this long break? James has now spilled the beans.
“It was a recovery, keeping the legs on their bikes, listening to some music to keep the vibrations.” said the International of England. “You get a lot from the players to cool off and reboot this engine, but we’re happy we just did the job.”
And do the job they did. Although Angel di Maria equated almost immediately after the restart by a penalty to send the game to extra time, Chelsea dominated from there.
The targets of Christopher Nkukku, Pedro Neto and the Dewsbury-Hall were sealed.
However, despite the result, Maresca was not pleased with the circumstances.
“You can’t be in two hours. It’s a completely new thing,” the Italian post-Party turned away.
“I understand suspend the game for security, but if you suspend six or seven games, it may not be the right place to host this competition.”
At least the 2026 World Cup is not celebrated in the United States … Oh, wait.
