IT'S GITTENS BETTER

CHELSEA beat Benfica in a game which went on for close to five hours at the Club World Cup on Saturday to set up a quarter-final showdown with Brazilian side Palmeiras at the tournament in the United States.

The London club were grateful to extra-time goals by Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to give them a 4-1 victory over Benfica.

Their late burst of scoring settled a last-16 tie which took four hours, 39 minutes to complete at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina after a near two-hour weather delay.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was left satisfied with his span’s victory, but slammed the delay that turned the tie into a near five-hour marathon.

Maresca wysed: “I think it’s a joke, it’s not football.

“For 85 minutes we were in control of the game. We created enough chances to win the game. Then after the break, the game changed – for me personally, it’s not football.”

Earlier, Chelsea had been poised for victory after Reece James’ second-half free-kick had left them 1-0 up with four minutes remaining.

But just as Chelsea began to think about their quarter-final assignment, the arrival of a storm over Charlotte triggered local safety protocols which required the game to be halted.

When play resumed just under two hours later, a revitalised Benfica grabbed an injury-time equaliser after Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area following an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee.

Benfica’s Argentine veteran Angel Di Maria stepped up to roll in an ice-cold penalty, sending the game into extra time.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are set to add England Under-21 international winger Jamie Gittens to their forward line after agreeing a deal with Borussia Dortmund, according to Sky Sports on Saturday.

The Blues will reportedly pay up to £55 million (R1.3 billion) for the 20-year-old, who had been in Chelsea’s academy as a youth player.

Brighton’s Joao Pedro, also wanted by Newcastle, is leaning towards a move to Chelsea if they can reach agreement on a fee.

Chelsea have had a proposal of around £58m rejected with Brighton wanting more than £60m.