CHELSEA scored three times in the second period of extra-time to hand 10-man Benfica a 4-1 defeat in Charlotte in their weather-affected last 16 Club World Cup clash on Saturday as the English side set up a quarter-final meeting with Brazil's Palmeiras.

Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored in a nine-minute spell to take Enzo Maresca's side through after the teams had been forced off the pitch for almost two hours due to a lightning storm.

Chelsea had taken the lead through Reece James in the 64th minute and, after the teams returned to the field, Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni was sent off two minutes into injury time.

But Angel di Maria scored from the penalty spot three minutes later to take the game into extra-time, from where Chelsea eventually prevailed to set up their meeting with Palmeiras on Friday.

"Very proud, the performance for me was top until 85 minutes when they stopped the game and it started a completely different game," said Maresca.

"When you are inside for more than one hour, it's not easy, but 1-1 and then we continued to play and the reward was the one that we deserved."

Chelsea captain James showcased his set-piece prowess to give the Premier League side the lead, breaking the deadlock in the 64th minute when he curled home a sublime free kick.

The match was halted five minutes from time due to a lightning storm near the Bank of America Stadium, activating the weather protocol and resulting in a break of almost two hours as teams and supporters were moved out of exposed areas.

Upon the teams' return, Prestianni was sent off for a second bookable offence seven minutes after the restart, but Benfica were given hope when di Maria scored from the penalty spot following Malo Gusto's handball.

Chelsea, though, made the most of their one-man advantage in extra-time.

Nkunku put Chelsea back in front three minutes into the second period when he lifted the ball over Nicolas Otamendi with an astute finish after Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin had blocked Moises Caicedo's initial shot.

Six minutes later Neto hit Chelsea's third with a composed finish as he raced in on goal, having been found by Caicedo. Dewsbury-Hall completed the scoring in the 117th minute when he was released into space by Cole Palmer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team's last-16 Club World Cup victory over Benfica on Saturday, suggesting the United States was not a suitable country for the competition - a year before it is due to host the men's World Cup.

Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in extra-time to qualify for the quarter-finals after a game that ended four hours and 39 minutes after kicking off, following a two-hour interruption due to a storm warning.

It was the sixth time that a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament because of the risk of lightning.

"For me personally, it's not football," Maresca told a press conference. "I think it's a joke. It's not football.

"I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition.

"It's a fantastic competition. It's the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here," he added.

"But six, seven games suspended? It's not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem."

FIFA, which organised the tournament, was not immediately available for comment.

Chelsea were 1-0 up when the players were asked to leave the pitch and play only resumed almost two hours later.

"The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It's not the same game because you break the tempo," Maresca said.