Chelsea captain Reece James felt the victory over Benfica that the developing adulthood of the team showed on Saturday.
The victory over Benfica came in extra time on Saturday, including a suspension of almost two hours of the game after 85 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
In the end, Chelsea won the round of 16 Club World Cup Tie 4-1 in the night, with James among their goal scorers.
The captain later said: “We have taken a long way. It is difficult to be so close to the end of the game and then have a staircase in the teeth.
“To pick yourself up, you clean yourself up and score a few goals probably how far we have come, and everyone played a role today.
“It was a very difficult game with many interruptions. The climate was not the best, the field was not the best, it was hard to play, and we arrived in 85 minutes and we stopped for a long period.
“It takes a lot from the players to cool down and restart that engine, but we are happy that we are doing the job.”
James said on his goal: “While I went over and I spoke with the center backs, and I asked them what they wanted. They said a shot, cross or in-swing, and I said no problem.
“When I came to the ball and saw the positioning of the keeper, he showed me too much of the goal. So I just decided to shoot and it went inside.”