Chelsea captain Reece James has lauded his team-mates after the club survived a “disruptive”, nearly two-hour, extreme weather delay at the Club World Cup.
James opened the scoring against Benfica in the 65th minute and the Blues looked on course to win before the lengthy stoppage, and Benfica returned to score a penalty through Angel di Maria.
However, after a red card for Gianluca Prestianni, Chelsea then scored three goals in extra time.
James was critical of the difficult conditions in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium but praised his team-mates: “It wasn’t probably the most difficult [game] for 85 minutes and then we had to sit and wait for I don’t know how long,” James said.
“It took a lot out of the players. We cooled down and it was quite disruptive when you’re in the flow of the game. We needed to restart the engine.
“We were keeping the legs going on the bike – a little bit of stretching, some music to keep the vibes there. It was in the back of my mind that the game wouldn’t be completed.
“It was difficult. The climate was very hot and humid. The pitch wasn’t the best but we got the job done.
“We came so close the end and it was difficult to get that kick in the teeth, but to go on and score three goals probably shows how far we have come. The red card probably helped with that, but we did well to get over the line.”
Chelsea next face Palmeiras in Philadelphia in the quarter-final on Friday and James added: “They’re amazing players and a good side. We’re going to set out to win.
”We have confidence in what our goals are going into the game, how we want to play, our structure, defensively and offensively. I think that’s more important to us. We have our structure right and we’ll achieve what we want to achieve.”
