In front of thousands of empty seats, Chelsea kick off Club World Cup campaign with dominant win over LAFC

Atlanta: Chelsea got their FIFA Club World Cup campaign underway with a 2-0 victory over MLS side Los Angeles FC in front of thousands of empty seats at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Thousands of seats were visibly empty in a 71,000-capacity stadium as Chelsea made a winning start in Group D. According to Sky Sports, the official attendance of the fixture was 22,137, which indicates that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was less than a third full.
In the first half, former Tottenham and LAFC's current goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, was called into action and denied Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke from racing away with an early lead. Chelsea grew in possession, pushed LAFC back and eventually broke the stalemate.
In front of a limited number of fans, Pedro Neto's 34th-minute goal gave manager Enzo Maresca's side a 1-0 advantage. The Portuguese breached the offside trap and latched onto Jackson's precise pass. He cut the ball back in and fired it into the bottom corner to put the Conference League winners 1-0 ahead in the contest.
Chelsea fans caught a glimpse of their latest acquisition, Liam Delap, in action midway through the second half. Chelsea had to work hard for their second but eventually got it in the second half. Delap was brought onto the field and engaged in back-and-forth passes with Cole Palmer. He put his quick feet on exhibition and eventually set up Fernandez to tap it home in the 79th minute for a 2-0 triumph.
After the contest, Chelsea boss Maresca didn't shy away from expressing his surprise on the thousands of seats that were empty throughout the fixture and said as quoted from Sky Sports, "The atmosphere and environment was a bit strange. The stadium was almost empty."
LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo gave his opinion and said, "I think it is different each game you look at," he said, adding, "In the Rose Bowl in LA, there was a huge crowd for the game between PSG and Atletico Madrid. Maybe LA likes football more than Atlanta, I don't know, we should judge at the end."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Observer

3 days ago

• Observer

Sergio Ramos gives Inter a scare in Club World Cup stalemate

PASADENA, United States: The 39-year-old Spanish great Sergio Ramos scored as Monterrey held Inter Milan 1-1 in a hard-fought Fifa Club World Cup (CWC) Group E opener in Pasadena on Tuesday. Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez scored a well-worked equaliser to cancel out Ramos's opener for the Mexican side in front of 40,311 fans at the Rose Bowl. Inter, playing their first game since being thrashed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, were left ruing their failure to turn their dominance of possession and territory into goals. But the draw was a boost for Ramos and Monterrey, who face Argentina's River Plate in their next game on Saturday. "When you don't get all three points you're never entirely happy," Ramos, the former Spain and Real Madrid defender, said. "But one point is better than no point. "They were a tough opponent and have just played in the final of the Champions League. We were a little bit nervous but in the second half we stayed organised and kept the ball better. "Now we need to think about the next game." Inter coach Cristian Chivu said his team had struggled to break down a Monterrey team who sat deep for long periods. "We played well in the first half even though we went behind," Chivu said. "We could have attacked better in the second half. It's not easy to play against a very low block." Chivu, in his first match in charge after the departure of Simone Inzaghi, denied the Champions League finalists had underestimated the Mexicans. "We respect every team we play and we knew what kind of team they were, we tried to do our best," he said. "Sometimes you get the best out of it, sometimes you don't. We created a lot of chances. Football's not won on paper." ALL INTER The Italians were in complete control almost from the kick-off, Benjamin Pavard the first to threaten with an eighth-minute shot that flew over the bar. Matteo Darmian should have done better in the 22nd minute but shot over after clever work down the left from Nicolo Barella. Yet despite the early onslaught, Inter were rocked in the 25th minute when Monterrey scored from one of their few forays into the Italians' half. Midfielder Oliver Torres swung a corner in from the right and Ramos — who had lost Francesco Acerbi on the edge of the six-yard box — steered his header into the bottom corner. Inter were soon back on the offensive and only a point-blank save by Monterrey goalkeeper Esteban Andrada from Sebastiano Esposito prevented an equaliser. Martinez also went close after 36 minutes, and Inter had a strong penalty appeal when Pavard's header struck Ramos on the arm inside the area. VAR found in favor of Ramos and Monterrey escaped. Three minutes later Inter drew level with a wonderfully worked free-kick routine. Albanian international Kristjan Asllani shaped to shoot from 25 yards out but instead flighted a delicate chip behind the Monterrey defence. Brazilian international Carlos Augusto timed his run to perfection and squared into the path of Martinez, who tapped in for 1-1. Monterrey almost regained the lead against the run of play on 64 minutes, Sergio Canales unleashing a low shot that cannoned off the post. Inter had a Martinez goal ruled out for offside moments later as the Italians continued to threaten. But it was Monterrey who came closest to grabbing a winner in stoppage time when Colombian midfielder Nelson Deossa got behind the Inter defence but could only shoot into the side netting. — AFP CLUB WORLD CUP RESULTS: Group E In Seattle River Plate (ARG) 3 (Colidio 12, Driussi 48, Meza 73) Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) 1 (Matsuo 58-pen) Group F In East Rutherford Fluminense (BRA) 0 Borussia Dortmund (GER) 0 In Orlando Ulsan HD (KOR) 0 Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA) 1 (Rayners 36) Group E In Pasadena Monterrey (MEX) 1 (Ramos 25) Inter Milan (ITA) 1 (Martinez 42)

Observer

4 days ago

• Observer

Chelsea win opener at CWC, Benfica deny Boca

PHILADELPHIA: Chelsea began their Club World Cup (CWC) campaign with a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles FC in a largely empty stadium on Monday as Brazilian giants Flamengo also got off to a winning start and a Benfica comeback denied Boca Juniors in a stormy encounter. As the inaugural 32-team tournament gradually kicks into gear in the United States, Chelsea followed fellow European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich by claiming three points in their first group outing. Yet while UEFA Champions League winners PSG were ominous against Atletico Madrid on Sunday, and Bayern put 10 past Auckland City, the Premier League team were more solid than spectacular against LAFC in Atlanta. Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez got the goals for Enzo Maresca's side in the Group D match before nearly 50,000 empty seats at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium — not a great look for the tournament organisers. New signing Liam Delap made his debut as a substitute and helped set up Fernandez's strike, with Chelsea hoping to reestablish themselves among the elite after their recent UEFA Conference League triumph and Champions League qualification. Maresca said it was a "very good result" and was happy with Delap's display following his recent arrival from Ipswich Town. "The good thing about Liam is he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick," said the Italian. "The environment was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full," added Maresca when asked about the crowd, as just over 22,000 attended the 71,000-capacity venue for a game played at 3:00 pm local time on a Monday. LAFC were late qualifiers for the tournament, beating Club America in a play-off last month to replace banned Mexican side Club Leon. Chelsea went ahead just after the half-hour mark when Nicolas Jackson released Neto and the Portuguese winger turned inside LA defender Ryan Hollingshead before beating goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a powerful strike. Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud came on at half time for the Americans and Steve Cherundolo's team improved in the second half. However, Delap entered the fray for Chelsea and made the killer second goal, crossing for the arriving Fernandez to control and finish. DOMINANT FLAMENGO Chelsea's next game will be against Flamengo, who began their campaign by easing to a 2-0 win against Esperance of Tunisia in Philadelphia. Uruguayan international Giorgian de Arrascaeta gave the Brazilian giants a 17th-minute lead from an assist by Luiz Araujo, who made it 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining. It was a dominant display from Flamengo, who fielded a strong side featuring several Brazil internationals and gave a debut to Italy midfielder Jorginho following his arrival from Arsenal. Jorginho will face former club Chelsea when the teams meet in their second match on Friday. Flamengo coach Filipe Luis is also an ex-player at Stamford Bridge. There were vast sections of empty seats at Lincoln Financial Field too, with just 25,797 fans in a stadium that can hold close to 70,000. STORMY In contrast, there was close to a full house, and a raucous atmosphere, in Miami as Boca and Benfica played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Group C. The majority of the crowd was backing Boca and the Argentines roared into a two-goal lead, Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia both scoring in the first half. Two-time European champions Benfica were given a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when Boca's Carlos Palacios mistimed a challenge on Nicolas Otamendi and after a VAR review — which included a red card for protesting from the already substituted Boca midfield Ander Herrera — a penalty was awarded. Veteran Angel di Maria converted from the spot to make it 2-1, but Benfica then had Andrea Belotti sent off in the 71st minute after a wild, high-footed kick into the head of Ayrton Costa. But with six minutes remaining the Portuguese side equalised as Otamendi headed in to make it 2-2. A disappointing result for Boca was compounded by a late red card for Nicolas Figal, who was dismissed for an ugly challenge on Florentino Luis. "We're left with a bitter taste because we thought we could have won it," said Boca's Battaglia. Tuesday's action begins with Borussia Dortmund taking on Fluminense of Brazil in New York in Group F, while Inter Milan face Monterrey of Mexico in Pasadena in Group E. — AFP

Times of Oman

4 days ago

• Times of Oman

"Only thing I have in my head...": Djokovic intends to defend men's title at LA 2028 Olympic Games

New Delhi : Former World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic said that defending his Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028 is the "only thing" that is keeping him motivated in the sport. Great Britain's Andy Murray remains the only player to have defended an Olympic singles title. Serbia's Djokovic would be 41 by the time he can do the same in the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Despite managing his workload with noticeably fewer tournaments in recent seasons, the 24-time Grand Slam champion told football manager Slaven Bilic that he wants to play in his sixth Games, having won singles bronze on his debut at Beijing 2008. "The only thing that, at this moment, professionally speaking, I have in my vision at this point. It's interesting when we talk about these achievements and the Olympics that stand out and redemption; the only thing that I have in my head that gives me motivation is the Olympics of 2028 in Los Angeles. Playing for the national team and Grand Slams. But not even the Grand Slams, not as much as the Olympics," Djokovic said in an interview as quoted by The 38-year-old's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris 2024 final completed his quest to win every major accolade the sport can offer. That includes winning all four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup, the ATP Finals and every Masters event. Tennis at LA 2028 will be hosted at the Tennis Center in Carson, which is currently a USTA high-performance training base. In the recently concluded French Open 2025, Djokovic lost to world number one Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. Sinner defeated three-time French Open winner and 100-time tour-level titlist 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3).