Enzo Maresca has slammed Club World Cup conditions, saying the United States is not the “right place to do this competition” and that it is “not football”, as Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 after extra-time to progress to the Club World Cup quarter finals on Saturday night.
The comments come after their game was suspended for almost two hours amid seasonal thunderstorms, meaning the game was ongoing for almost four hours.
Maresca’s side took the lead in the second half through a smart free kick from skipper Reece James, who caught the Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin out at his near post with a cunning effort.
Then, when in control and seeing out the game and with just five minutes to spare, Maresca’s side were pulled from the pitch due to the adverse weather conditions.
The game was suspended for nearly two hours due to the weather conditions
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Two hours later, both teams took to the field again, and after ten minutes, Benfica grabbed an equaliser through a controversial penalty decision from VAR.
Referee Slavko Vincic was sent to the stand and decided full-back Malo Gusto was guilty of a handball, despite not looking at the ball and it being in the air.
The decision gave veteran Angel Di Maria the opportunity to equalise from the spot, which he duly delivered.
The spot kick took the game to extra time, where, after teenager Gianluca Prestianni acquired a second yellow card, Chelsea reasserted their dominance, with goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to end 4-1.
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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall grabbed his first goal of the competition to help Chelsea secure a 4-1 victory after extra-time
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Maresca’s players were forced to cycle on exercise bikes and to do kick-ups for two hours to keep their muscles warm amid the adverse weather conditions.
Following the game, Maresca was quick to blast the conditions, saying: "For 85 minutes we were in control of the game.
"After the break, the game changed completely. For me, it's not football. It's already seven, eight, nine games that they suspended.
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"I think it's a joke to be honest, it's not football. It's not for us. You cannot be inside. I struggle to understand."
The 45-year-old added: "I can understand that for security reasons, you suspend the game. But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means that probably [this] is not the right place to do this competition."
Chelsea’s game was the seventh match to encounter a stoppage due to weather conditions, with Benfica already involved in another two-hour delay against Auckland City.
Maresca continued slamming the decision to hold the competition in the United States: "It's a joke. That's why I said it. If they've already suspended six games, probably there is something that is not working.
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Enzo Maresca was left fuming after the game concluded
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"I’m not here to decide the rule. I'm no one to decide the rule. I'm the last one. I'm talking as a manager. As a manager, it's difficult to manage two hours suspended.
"There is some problem for me personally. But I'm not talking - I'm talking as a manager. Because when you are two hours inside and you try to keep them in the game, but for two hours, they are speaking with the family outside, for safety reasons.
"They are eating something, they are playing, they are laughing. How can you keep them two hours inside, focused?
"Then we are happy. We are happy to be here. We are happy to be in this competition. But it's something that it's not normal for."
Chelsea skipper James backed his manager, adding that the delay was "disruptive".
He said: "It was quite disruptive when you're in the flow of the game.
"Lots of substitutions - trying to get warm and stay warm. It was difficult and the climate was very hot and humid."
Chelsea face Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarter-finals in the early hours of Saturday morning, as they look to cement their place as the best team in the world.
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