I feel very safe with Lavia and Caicedo. incredible incredible players. These are the engine of the team. Very very good on the ball too

There is little doubt that beating defenders one-on-one is Gittens’ potential superpower, as data from last season demonstrates.

⚽ Final Score: Benfica 1–4 Chelsea


🧵 Key Takeaways from the Match

Part -1

1. Weather Delay Didn’t Dampen Chelsea’s Rhythm

A nearly two-hour stoppage due to severe weather disrupted play in Charlotte—but once resumed, Chelsea kept their focus and tempo.

2. Reece James’ Perfect Free Kick

James broke the deadlock in the 64th minute with a precisely placed free kick that sneaked in at the near post—his second direct free-kick goal of 2025 .

3. Drama in the 90th Minute

Just as extra time loomed, Angel Di María converted a penalty after a handball by Malo Gusto, bringing Benfica level at 1–1 .

🔜 To be continued 👇👇

⚽ Final Score: Benfica 1–4 Chelsea


🧵 Key Takeaways from the Match

Part -2


4. Benfica Reduced to 10 Men

Seconds into extra time, Gianluca Prestianni was shown red for a second bookable foul—tilting momentum heavily towards Chelsea .

5. Chelsea’s Extra-Time Greatness

With extra space to exploit, Chelsea scored three goals to seal the deal:

Christopher Nkunku (108′)

Pedro Neto (114′)

Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall (117′)


6. Moises Caicedo: Midfield Maestro

Caicedo was everywhere—helping to launch attacks, earning fouls, making tackles, and being directly involved in two of the goals. The standout star of the night .


📊 Match Stats Summary

Category. Benfica. Chelsea

Possession 36% 64 %
Shots (on target) 8 (5) 22 (12)
Corners 2 10
Fouls 14 21

🔜 To be continued 👇👇

⚽ Final Score: Benfica 1–4 Chelsea

🧵 Key Takeaways from the Match

Part -3 (Final Part)


🔍 What This Tells Us

Composure under pressure: Despite weather disruptions and conceding late, Chelsea stayed focused and decisive.

Set-piece specialists: Reece James’ free kick highlighted Chelsea’s quality in dead-ball situations.

Depth advantage: Bench impact, discipline, and extra time performance showed Chelsea’s superior squad strength.

Midfield control: Caicedo’s influence was pivotal in unlocking Benfica’s defense

Presented by: @swefer_n

Pedro Neto's last three games. 🔥

He took the kwame slander personally 👏

We are not going to use the platform to fuel hate among our own players on this platform anymore! At least not on my watch.

#BottomLine

I fully back this. Positive criticism of our players is right. But coming here to run out our two players against each other is just being petty and unblue like.

We can point out players weaknesses in the right way. We are allowed to criticise. But do it constructively.

We cannot fight against our opponents and haters and fight against ourselves.

#WeAreBack

I have no words for this man anymore, People who rate midfielders with G/A amaze me. This guy is the best midfielder in the club my a mile. When you watch him you immediately see the quality

What actually do our sporting directors look at when scouting a player?

If Chelsea signs the players they wants these will be Thier starting eleven(11)

Excuse me?

FireSide

Gittens

While I had my reservation on the Kids price Tag, this is no longer an issue as he could finally be joining.

But what do I like about him?

Four things.

1.Directness

2. Strength and power

3. Ability to dribble comfortably to any side. Add to his growing footwork, you get the unpredictability required for a winger.

4. Ability to take shots in micro spaces.

While my biggest frustration with Sancho was his frequent braking ,lack of constant meaningful penetration and frequent and careless loss of balls, Gittens tries to target dangerous areas aggressively rather than being passive.

Sometimes he is tempted to take some timid baby shots, but he tries to take them frequently. This is something however we all want around the box. We can only hope that with time they will get better.

We are getting a good player with the potential to be amazing. With these kids you only hope they can have the right mentality and attitude. And the sky will never be the limit.

FireSide

#TacticalReview

It's difficult trying to figure out Maresca's tactical decisions and game objectives, of course unless you are himself.

Like the game against Flamengo when we were ranting and whining, maybe the man knew he was planning to lose the battle but win the war. Loose the match in favour of favourable fixtures run in. Genius.

And even now with the recent tactical adjustments, I have a feeling the man could already be planning how to counter the likes of PSG in later stages.

When he over thinks like Pep and it backfires, fans hate

When he out-foxes opponents like Pep, fans cherish

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't

#EmotionalLove💙

📊 João Pedro vs Nico Jackson

LW: Gittens & Neto
ST: Delap & Jackson
RW: Estevao & Madueke
AM: Palmer & Joao Pedro

Chelsea's potential attacking depth for next season.

Our scouting strategy is Brighton or Man City academy & Inshallah 😭😭😭

For those wondering how Chelsea have managed to spend so much money on players, take a look at the exit door over the last decade. Nobody does it better when it comes to player sale profits. The whole point about player trading is that trading involves buying and selling. Throw in a further £350m of real estate and women's team sales, plus some player registrations being amortised over 8-9 years and they have nothing to worry about from a PSR perspective.

[Via Kieran Maguire]