{"id":10943,"date":"2025-06-30T10:27:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T07:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/?p=10943"},"modified":"2025-06-30T10:27:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T07:27:28","slug":"chelsea-crush-benfica-4-1-to-reach-club-world-cup-quarters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/football-news\/chelsea-crush-benfica-4-1-to-reach-club-world-cup-quarters\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea Crush Benfica 4-1 to Reach Club World Cup Quarters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kenyan football fans had plenty to cheer about as Chelsea booked their ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) quarter-finals with a stunning 4-1 extra-time victory over Portuguese giants Benfica. Despite late drama and a weather stoppage, the Blues emerged triumphant, setting up a mouth-watering clash against Brazilian side Palmeiras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Blazing Start in Charlotte<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chelsea wasted no time getting into gear at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. From the first whistle, they pushed forward relentlessly, with Pedro Neto testing Benfica\u2019s keeper Anatolii Trubin inside the opening minute. Liam Delap was close to scoring moments later, only to be denied by Ant\u00f3nio Silva\u2019s crucial interception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc Cucurella stood out as one of Chelsea\u2019s brightest sparks. The Spaniard twice came agonizingly close to scoring in the first half, first forcing a goal-line header from Silva, then drawing a sensational save from Trubin. Despite Chelsea\u2019s dominance, the first half ended 0-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chelsea
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reece James Breaks the Deadlock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chelsea\u2019s pressure finally paid off in the 64th minute. Cole Palmer earned a free-kick on the left wing, and captain Reece James stepped up to thunder the ball past Trubin, sending Chelsea fans \u2014 including many following the match back in Kenya \u2014 into a frenzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cucurella and Delap almost doubled the lead ten minutes later. Cucurella threaded a sublime pass to Delap, who rounded the keeper but was ruled offside, denying the young striker his second goal for the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benfica\u2019s Late Equaliser Sparks Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the game looked to be winding down, disaster struck for Chelsea. With just five minutes remaining, the match was halted by a weather-enforced stoppage. Upon resumption, Benfica dramatically levelled the score. Veteran Argentine winger \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda coolly slotted home a penalty in the fifth minute of added time after Malo Gusto was judged to have handled the ball in the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The match headed into extra time, and Benfica\u2019s hopes took a blow as Gianluca Prestianni was shown a red card, leaving the Portuguese side with ten men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chelsea
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nkunku Seals It in Extra Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With penalties looming, Christopher Nkunku emerged as Chelsea\u2019s saviour. A scrappy piece of goalkeeping from Trubin allowed Nkunku to bundle home from close range, restoring Chelsea\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added gloss to the scoreline with two late goals, ensuring a well-deserved 4-1 triumph for Enzo Maresca\u2019s men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Next for Chelsea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chelsea\u2019s win sets up an electrifying quarter-final encounter with Palmeiras, the Brazilian giants who also have a strong following among Kenyan football lovers. With Chelsea showing such resilience and firepower, fans in Kenya will be eagerly anticipating another thrilling performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chelsea
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Kenyan Punters Should Check Out Bangbet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are you a Kenyan football fan who loves placing a cheeky bet on the Blues? Look no further than Bangbet<\/a>. Bangbet <\/a>offers some of the best odds in Kenya on local and international football, including the FIFA Club World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join thousands of Kenyan punters and feel the thrill of the game while backing your favourite team. Sign up today<\/a> and get started with a welcome bonus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenyan football fans had plenty to cheer about as Chelsea booked their ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) quarter-finals with a stunning 4-1 extra-time victory over Portuguese giants Benfica. Despite late drama and a weather stoppage, the Blues emerged triumphant, setting up a mouth-watering clash against Brazilian side Palmeiras. A Blazing Start in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[211,377,212,68,654,585,639,590,611,38,78],"class_list":{"0":"post-10943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football-news","8":"tag-bangbet","9":"tag-bangbet-kenya","10":"tag-bangsports","11":"tag-betting-guide","12":"tag-chelsea-vs-benfica","13":"tag-club-world-cup-2025","14":"tag-fifa-club-world-cup","15":"tag-fifa-club-world-cup-2025","16":"tag-football-betting-kenya","17":"tag-kenya","18":"tag-sports-betting-africa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10949,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943\/revisions\/10949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}