A livid Enzo Maresca urged that the US will not be match to host the Membership World Cup after Chelsea’s 4-1 victory over Benfica within the final 16 was delayed for nearly two hours in Charlotte due to a extreme climate occasion.
Chelsea have been 1-0 up and cruising in the direction of the final eight when play was stopped with 5 minutes of regular left on the Financial institution of America Stadium after a lightning strike within the space. The groups have been ordered off the pitch by the officers needed to keep heat of their respective dressing rooms earlier than play resumed after an hour and 53 minutes.
There was additional frustration for Chelsea when a controversial last-minute penalty allowed Benfica to drive extra-time. The Premier League facet finally pushed via to win 4-1, 4 hours and 38 minutes after kick-off, however there was concern about off-pitch occasions a yr earlier than the lads’s World Cup is held in Canada, Mexico and the US.
“For 85 minutes we have been accountable for the sport,” Maresca stated. “After the break, the sport modified utterly. For me it’s not soccer. It’s already seven, eight, 9 video games that they suspended. I feel it’s a joke to be sincere, it’s not soccer. It’s not for us. You can’t be inside. I battle to grasp. I can perceive that for safety causes, you droop the sport. However for those who droop seven, eight video games, that signifies that most likely [this] will not be the precise place to do that competitors.”
Storms have precipitated six video games, all held in several cities, to be suspended through the event. Groups additionally needed to take care of a heatwave masking a lot of the east and centre of the US.
“I’m very comfortable,” Maresca stated. “We’re within the final eight of this implausible competitors. The group was superb. For me, among the best performances within the final weeks and months.
“The issue is that when the sport is suspended, it’s not soccer. Guys, it’s not soccer. You droop the sport, it’s not soccer. It’s utterly one thing completely different. They [Benfica] scored as a result of they should chase. We’re inside, we’re profitable. You go outdoors, mentally completely different. It’s troublesome.
“We had an hour and a half, two-hour cease. Then it began utterly completely different. It’s not the identical sport since you break the tempo. So two hours inside; individuals communicate with the household outdoors, in the event that they have been good, the safety. Folks consuming, individuals laughing, individuals speaking on the cellular. It’s two hours. That’s why I stated it’s not soccer.
“It’s one thing that you simply battle to grasp. However we tried to exit, proceed in the identical approach, figuring out that it was troublesome. It’s not random that for 85 minutes, we didn’t concede nothing. After which for 5 minutes, we conceded a number of probabilities. Why? It’s as a result of it began a totally completely different sport.”
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Chelsea, who’ve misplaced Moises Caicedo to a one-game ban, will face Palmeiras subsequent after benefiting from Benfica happening to 10 males in extra-time with objectives from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Corridor.
It was put to Maresca that the implementation of the protocol risked damaging the event’s standing. “Guys, please, don’t misunderstand me, I stated it’s a implausible competitors,” Maresca stated. “It’s prime. We’re comfortable to be within the final eight.
“However one thing occurs, six, seven video games suspended. In a World Cup, what number of video games are suspended? Zero, most likely. In Europe, what number of video games? Zero. We’re right here, two weeks, they’re already suspended six, seven video games. There may be some downside. We’re comfortable to be on this competitors. However it’s one thing that’s not regular.”