Benfica player starred against Chelsea two years after they considered signing him

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Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup after beating Benfica 4-1 in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Goals from Reece James, Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall saw Chelsea make it to the next round, where they will play Estevao Willian’s Palmeiras.

While Enzo Maresca‘s men won the chaotic game by a three-goal margin in the end, it was a tight affair.

Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin really made life difficult for Chelsea until James was finally able to break the deadlock. Right now, Chelsea are being linked with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and other shot-stoppers, but in the past they have actually shown interest in Trubin.

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How Anatoliy Trubin almost thwarted Chelsea before Benfica collapse

Had Trubin been in Chelsea’s side and Benfica had another goalkeeper, the Blues probably would have won their Club World Cup tie much sooner.

Before James’ goal, which Trubin should have perhaps prevented, the 23-year-old was excellent. The likes of Neto, Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella could not find a way past him.

In total, Trubin finished the game with seven saves to his name and had some really bright moments. However, the Ukrainian will feel that he certainly could have done much better with Nkunku’s goal.

Not doing more to stop James and Nkunku’s goals proved costly, but Bruno Lage would have been delighted with Trubin before those moments. He kept Benfica in the game when Chelsea were dominating and creating chances.

Before the match, it was Neto who had caught Lage’s attention, with the Benfica boss hailing him as one of the best wide men in the world.

Chelsea considered signing Anatoliy Trubin before his move from Shakhtar Donetsk to Benfica

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, it was 2023 when Chelsea thought about signing Trubin. At the time, the Blues were looking for competition for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was eventually replaced by Robert Sanchez.

Sanchez is now Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper and started against Benfica, but the Conference League winners were without Nicolas Jackson following his red card in his side’s previous outing.

Since then, the 24-year-old has been linked with a move to Arsenal. Thierry Henry has spoken positively of Jackson in the past, so he is someone who may welcome the Senegal international to north London.