Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca expressed his discontent with the choice of the United States as the host of the Club World Cup, calling the two-hour interruption due to weather in his team’s victory over Benfica “a joke”. The ‘Blues’ secured their spot in the quarterfinals against Palmeiras with a 4-1 victory after extra time in Charlotte, in a match that suffered the second-longest weather delay in the competition. Chelsea were leading 1-0 thanks to Reece James’ free kick in the 64th minute before Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic stopped the match due to lightning in the area, four minutes before the end of regular time. After the restart, by then many of the 25,929 spectators had already left, Benfica received a penalty in stoppage time for a handball by Malo Gusto. Ángel Di María equalized from the penalty spot, forcing an additional 30 minutes. After the red card to Gianluca Prestianni, from Benfica, in the 92nd minute, Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored in extra time, but Maresca was furious about the logistical challenges. The match on Saturday was the sixth Club World Cup match to be interrupted due to weather conditions.
Maresca added:We didn’t concede anything, we created enough chances to win the match.
Enzo Maresca
And after the break, the game changed completely. I think for me personally this is not football. There are already seven, eight, nine games that have been suspended. I think it’s a joke, to be honest, it’s not football. It’s not for us. You can’t be inside [for so long].
Enzo Maresca
The Chelsea coach concluded:Please, don’t misunderstand me. I said it’s a fantastic competition. It’s a Club World Cup. It’s the best. We are happy to be in the last eight. We are happy to win all this kind of things.
Enzo Maresca
Maresca finished:But something is happening, six, seven suspended matches, probably those who decide need a reason, because it is not normal to suspend a match. In a World Cup, how many matches are suspended? Zero, probably. In Europe, how many matches? Zero.
Enzo Maresca
The Chelsea coach continued to explain: But I speak as a coach. Because when you’re inside for two hours, you try to keep them in the game, but for two hours, they’re talking to the family outside for safety reasons. They’re eating something, they’re playing, they’re laughing. How can you keep them inside for two hours, focused? It’s a joke.We are here, two weeks, six, seven matches have already been suspended. There is some problem for me personally.
Enzo Maresca
