Benfica 1–4 Chelsea Player Ratings: Pedro Neto Rated 9/10 as Chelsea Reach Quarters in a Weather Impacted Match

Chelsea moved into the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup after taking a 10-man Benfica down with a 4-1 victory. After a goalless first half, Reece James opened the scoring with a wonderful direct free kick from the left flank. A lengthy 1hr+ weather-related delay gave Benfica a chance to sneak into the game as Angel di Maria converted a penalty deep in the stoppage time to force extra time. Christopher Nkunku made the difference as he blasted home from close range in the extra time, when Benfica were reduced to 10 men. Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored to kill the contest late on.

Chelsea dominated the proceedings from minute one, as Neto had a glorious chance to open the scoring but was well denied by Anatoliy Trubin. The goalkeeper was in top form as he pulled save after save to deny Chelsea. There was even a heroic goal-line clearance from Antonio Silva as Chelsea missed their shooting boots in the first half despite having chances. Benfica, on the other hand, were completely shut down. Their attack, especially Angel di Maria, struggled to make an impact as their defence saved the day to make sure the first half ended goalless.

Nevers were jangling as the game edged into the final quarter without a goal. But Chelsea skipper James stepped up and buried a free kick from the right wing by catching the excellent Trubin napping at his near post. Benfica were trying desperately to score an equaliser as they created a few late chances, but they missed them. A weather event delayed the game as the players sought shelter. The delay tested everyone's patience and changed the momentum of the game as Benfica came with purpose and won a penalty courtesy of a Malo Gusto handball. Di Maria converted it with ease to set up extra time.

Benfica made a horror start to extra time as their substitute Gianluca Prestianni saw a second yellow card and they were forced to play a majority of 30 minutes with 10 men. It was the right opportunity for Chelsea to go for the kill. Instead, Benfica showed their great threat on the breaks. The Blues ultimately prevailed when Nkunku bundled home from close range following a schoolboy error from Trubin, who parried a shot into his path. Neto and Hall killed off counters to put the result beyond doubt.

Here are the Benfica vs Chelsea Player Ratings.

Benfica Player Ratings

Here are the Benfica Player Ratings vs Chelsea

Goalkeeper

Anatoliy Trubin - 5/10

Made a top-class to deny Cucurella by making himself big. His form showed as he impressed with his kicking and pulled save after save. Was beaten very tamely by a free kick at his near post. Fumbled an easy save into Nkunku's path for the late goal/

Defenders

Fredrik Aursnes -6/10

Despite being attacked constantly, he defended his flank well and got chances to go forward. But the quality was missing during his forward runs.

Antonio Silva-6/10

Produced a fabulous goal-line clearance to keep it 0-0 in the first half. He was a vital part of the buildup as he got some key passes away.

Nicolas Otamendi-5.5/10

The veteran enjoyed a physical battle with Delap as he always rises to the occasion. But he had his fair share of problems when Neto charged at him.

Samuel Dahl-6/10

The fullback was beaten in the first minute by Neto and struggled to get to terms with him ever since. There was little scope for attacking performance as well

Midfielders

Florentino Luis - 6.5/10

The midfielder demanded the ball and was responsible for progressing it forward. Conceded an unnecessary foul as Chelsea opened the scoring.

Leandro Barreiro-7/10

He often pushed forward to add bodies to the attack, but that left gaping holes in the middle for Chelsea to exploit.

Orkun Kokcu-6.5/10

The creative midfielder became a workhorse as he had to contribute a lot in defence to help his side from being carved open. It hindered his creativity as he didn't create chances.

Forwards

Angel di Maria-6.5/10

The veteran swapped places constantly to create openings, but the opposition did well to shut them out. His attempted passes were miserably cut out. Made his experience count with a late penalty.

Andreas Schjelderup-5.5/10

He got into a never-ending tussle with Reece James down both ends as the domination changed hands. He could've had a penalty on another day.

Vangehelis Pavlidis-5/10

The striker spent most of the first half tussling with the opposition centre-backs to no end. There was precious little service to him.

Substitutes

Kerem Akturkoglu-6/10

Andrea Belotti-6/10

Gianluca Prestianni-4/10

Picked up a second yellow card in extra time to dampen his side's chances.

Joao Veloso-6/10

Tiago Gouveia-6/10

Manager

Bruno Lage-6/10

His side were fortunate not to go at least a goal down at halftime. The attack looked massively uninspired as they failed to string some passes together. An avoidable goal in the second half punished them as they failed offensively. The lengthy stoppage gave his side hope.

Chelsea Player Ratings

Here are the Chelsea Player Ratings vs Benfica

Goalkeeper

Robert Sanchez-6/10

Was barely involved in the first half except for a few sweeps. Had a jittery moment in the second half but made sure it didn't hurt him. Couldn't guess and save the penalty.

Defenders

Reece James-8.5/10

The skipper won some challenges early on to get his confidence up, and it showed in his game. Pocketed the ball expertly into the bottom corner from a corner to make the difference.

Benoit Badiashile-7/10

He made a couple of silly mistakes on the ball with his touches, but was lucky to go unpunished. Had an assured second half defensively.

Levi Colwill-7/10

The defender showcased his ball-playing skills with some good passes into the final third. Defended his box with aplomb.

Marc Cucucrella-7/10

Had a shot cleared off the line and another huge one saved. Despite having to defend di Maria, he always got the chance to attack.

Midfielders

Moises Caicedo-7.5/10

His passing between the lines and long passes were extremely top-class as they kick-started many attacks for his side. He did the job while screening his defence as well.

Romeo Lavia-7/10

He was a bit rusty as his passes missed the mark so often. Once he got into the mix, he made some impactful contributions.

Forwards

Cole Palmer -7.5/10

The English international dropped to the left wing and played plenty of crosses, which often missed the target and had a couple of good shots on target.

Enzo Fernandez-6/10

He had a free role as he dropped into the midfield when needed and even crashed the box looking for a goal.

Pedro Neto-9/10

The winger could've put his side 1-0 up inside 45 seconds, but he was denied by the keeper. Was creating trouble all game long with his pace and dribbling. Got his goal finally in the extra time.

Liam Delap-6/10

The striker was making good runs, but he wasn't close to getting on the end of any service in the first half. Has to be more nimble with his back to the goal.

Substitutues

Tosin Adarabioyo-6/10

Malo Gusto-4/10

Had poor game awareness to stretch his arm and give away a penalty.

Christopher Nkunku-7/10

Reacted the quickest to score from close range

Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall-7/10

Finished off a counter to make it 4-1.

Trevoh Chalobah-6/10

Manager

Enzo Maresca-6/10

The fluid nature of his side was on display as there were plenty of rotations in midfield and attack. However, they didn't bear fruit as they missed their shooting boots. Reece James' free kick spared the attacker's blushes as they looked blunt. Needs to fix the issue going deep into the tournament.

Sportsdunia’s Player of the Match: Pedro Neto