Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has hit out on the 113-minute lightning delay that disrupted his crew’s Membership World Cup conflict towards Benfica, calling the prolonged interruption “a joke” and “not soccer.”
Chelsea seemed to be in full management of their last-16 encounter in Charlotte, main 1-0 by a sensational Reece James free-kick within the sixty fourth minute. Nevertheless, with simply minutes left in regulation time, match officers suspended the sport as a consequence of lightning within the surrounding space — a security measure frequent in U.S.-based sporting occasions.
The delay stretched to just about two hours, throughout which gamers and followers had been left in limbo. When play ultimately resumed, Chelsea’s rhythm had been damaged. Malo Gusto was controversially penalized for handball, and Angel Di Maria coolly transformed the Ninety fifth-minute penalty to stage the rating and drive further time.
However Chelsea bounced again in further time, helped by the sending off of Gianluca Prestianni simply two minutes in. With the numerical benefit, the Blues surged to victory by objectives from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Corridor, sealing a 4-1 win and a spot within the quarter-finals.
Talking after the match, Maresca voiced his frustration with how the delay altered the sport’s circulate “For 85 minutes we had been in management. Then after the break, the sport modified fully,” he mentioned.
“For me, it’s not soccer. You can’t be inside [the dressing room] for 2 hours. I perceive suspending the sport for security, but when six or seven video games are being delayed like this, perhaps this isn’t the fitting place for the competitors.”
He continued: “It’s a improbable match, and we’re completely happy to be within the final eight. However you don’t droop video games on the World Cup or in Europe. This isn’t regular.”
Chelsea now put together for a quarter-final showdown with Palmeiras, who additionally went to further time in their very own last-16 conflict towards Botafogo. That recreation is about for early Saturday morning (2am BST
Nevertheless, Maresca shall be with out Moises Caicedo, who’s suspended after accumulating two yellow playing cards, and Benoit Badiashile, who picked up an damage throughout the Benfica match.
