At 4 a.m., Club World Cup Champions League match: Enzo reverses his old master, 37-year-old angel may face the farewell battle

The Club World Cup has ended all the group stage games, and the knockout round of 16 will officially start in the early morning of June 29; zero will be the "Brazil derby" between Botafogo and Palmeiras; a "Champions League showdown" will be staged at 4 a.m., with Chelsea facing Benfica. This is the third match between the two teams, and once Benfica is out, Angel Di Maria will also usher in her final match in Benfica.

Even though he failed to appear in the Champions League in the past two years, Chelsea was still shortlisted for the Club World Cup as the 2021 Champions League champion, but the Blues' journey was not smooth; after defeating Los Angeles in the first game, he was defeated by Flamengo in the second round and lost the first place in the group. However, this made Chelsea "a blessing in disguise". As Bayern unexpectedly missed the first place in the group, the Blues not only avoided the more competitive second half, but also faced Benfica, who was not very strong.

Chelsea and Benfica had three previous encounters, namely the Champions League quarterfinals in the 11-12 season. The Blues defeated their opponents in two rounds to advance, and won the first Champions League championship in team history that year. The third time was in the UEFA Europa League final in the 12-13 season. The Blues won the championship again, which also continued Benfica's curse of not having a championship in the 100-year European competition. Chelsea naturally wants to complete four kills and get the top 8 spots in this duel, and Enzo will also lead the team to rebel against the old master.

Enzo joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 with a record 121 million euros, and it was not until Werz joined Liverpool this year that he broke Enzo's record. Enzo has handed in 1 goal and 2 assists in three games of this Club World Cup, and is also the team's deputy captain; in the year Maresca coached, he has also contributed a record of 9 goals and 16 assists; he has set a record of individual goals in a single season. After these two and a half years of training, Enzo has obviously transformed into the absolute core of the Blues midfield.

Benfica, Bayern won the first place in the last round of the group stage; however, in the pre-match promotion forecast, Benfica only had 41%, less than Chelsea's 59%. At the same time, this game may also be Di Maria's last match in Europe. Long before coming to the Club World Cup, Di Maria returned to Rosario Central after confirming the Club World Cup. Although Di Maria is 37 years old, he has scored 18 goals and 9 assists this season, and has scored 3 goals in three Club World Cup games.