Chelsea's FIFA Club World Cup campaign began with an extraordinarily prolonged and chaotic match against Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, ultimately ending in a 4-1 victory for the Blues after extra time. The game, which felt interminable, concluded four hours and 38 minutes after its initial kick-off, largely due to a severe weather suspension.

The match saw Chelsea initially take the lead in the 64th minute through a precise free-kick from Reece James. However, with just four minutes of regulation remaining and Chelsea leading 1-0, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic halted play due to a severe weather warning caused by lightning in the vicinity of Bank of America Stadium. Players were forced off the field, and the 25,929-strong crowd was urged to seek shelter in the concourse, leading to a lengthy delay that saw the proposed resumption time pushed back repeatedly.

After almost two hours, with Chelsea's players trying to stay warm on bikes in the locker room, the game finally resumed. The stoppage, however, broke the tempo and significantly altered the match's dynamic. In the fifth minute of added time, controversy struck when a ball hit Malo Gusto's hand in the box. Despite the seeming lack of intent, the handball was deemed to be in an unnatural position, leading to a penalty for Benfica. Ángel Di María calmly converted the spot-kick, equalizing the score and sending the game into extra time, much to the dismay of Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca and many of the remaining fans.

The extra period quickly turned in Chelsea's favor. Just two minutes in, Gianluca Prestianni received his second yellow card for a rash challenge, reducing Benfica to ten men. Chelsea capitalized on their numerical advantage, with Christopher Nkunku reacting quickest to a rebound from Moisés Caicedo's shot to fire the ball into the net in the 108th minute. As Benfica's challenge waned, Chelsea sealed their emphatic win with two swift counter-attacking goals: Pedro Neto scored his third goal in four games in the 114th minute, followed by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's clever dinked finish in the 117th minute, completing the 4-1 scoreline.

Despite the victory, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca expressed profound outrage at being made to complete the game under such conditions. He criticized the repeated suspensions in the Club World Cup, labeling it 'a joke' and stating, 'It's not football.' While acknowledging security reasons for suspensions, Maresca questioned the suitability of the venue if seven or eight games in the tournament had faced similar delays. He highlighted how the two-hour break disrupted the game's tempo and atmosphere, turning it into something unrecognizable from competitive football.

The match, which lasted 4 hours and 38 minutes, was a chaotic spectacle, featuring two cooling breaks in addition to the storm delay. It raised questions about tournament logistics and the need for potential time limits for suspensions. Chelsea, who dominated statistically with 22 shots to Benfica's 8, will now face Brazilian giant Palmeiras in the quarterfinals in Philadelphia. The team, needing a period of calm after the intense chaos, will also be without Moisés Caicedo due to suspension for the next match, as they continue their pursuit of global glory.