On Monday, Group D kicked off play at the Club World Cup with Chelsea defeating Los Angeles FC 2-0, showing why they are one of the favorites to win the Club World Cup. The Blues got off to a good start with Liam Delap making his debut and assisting the second goal to Enzo Fernandez. The Black and Gold had to win a playoff with Club America to get into the tournament, replacing Club Leon, and they still put up a fight against the Blues.
Boca Juniors and Benfica will also take the pitch in a match between two historic clubs before Flamengo close out the night facing ES Tunis in Philadelphia. Filipe Luis is one of the rising managers in world soccer, and while he was linked to the Brazil job, leading Flamengo in the CWC will be quite a challenge, especially when a date with his former club, Chelsea, will be looming in the group stage.
Chelsea start off strong
It may have taken a bit for Pedro Neto to score Chelsea’s opening goal, but eventually their pressure wore down Los Angeles FC. The Blues were able to add another and were never troubled by the Black and Gold as they chased their second goal. New signing Delap made his Chelsea debut after joining from Ipswich Town and wasted no time showing what he can do, assisting Fernandez for Chelsea’s second goal.
The starting striker position is wide open for Chelsea, and with performances like this one, Delap is showing why Chelsea coveted him. Familiar with manager Enzo Maresca from his time in the Manchester City youth academy, it’s already clear why the Blues got him after he scored 12 goals and assisted two more with relegated Ipswich Town. LAFC can take positives from this loss as they did limit Chelsea’s chances, but with MLS sides struggling, they’ll need to improve to show MLS can get points in this competition.
How to watch the Club World Cup on DAZN
All matches will be airing for free on the DAZN app. From the group stage through the final, the games will stream around the world with no cost to access it. Click here to watch DAZN for free.
Monday’s schedule
All times Eastern
