Nicolas Jackson sent off as Chelsea implode against Flamengo
Nicolas Jackson was sent off as Chelsea crashed to a 3-1 loss to Flamengo at the Club World Cup.
Pedro Neto fired the Blues ahead early on but Enzo Maresca's side imploded in the second half in Philadelphia.
The Blues conceded twice and saw Jackson dismissed for a horror tackle in the space of just six minutes after the break.
This Mengão comeback. 😮💨 #FIFACWC
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) June 20, 2025
Their woes were compounded when Wallace Yan wrapped up the scoring late on, adding to earlier goals from fellow substitute Bruno Henrique and veteran Danilo.
The result – played out in front of a crowd of 54,019 at Lincoln Financial Field – left Chelsea with a win and a loss from their two outings in Group D having earlier looked set to take a giant stride towards the last 16.
It made for a disappointing full debut for new striker Liam Delap, who had been brought into the side for Jackson, but a notable scalp for Flamengo manager Filipe Luis, formerly of the London club.
The game got off to lively and feisty start yet while the Brazilians looked more at ease in the heat – 27C at kick-off – they struggled to carve out clear-cut openings.
Former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho did fire over in the early stages but Robert Sanchez was not troubled in goal.
Despite a lack of possession and a subdued performance from Cole Palmer out wide, Chelsea offered a threat on the counter-attack.
1-0 up in Philly. 👊 pic.twitter.com/7Lsac3Z4wz
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 20, 2025
Delap went close to opening the scoring when he burst clear and forced Agustin Rossi to palm over.
Chelsea grabbed the lead when Neto benefited from a fortunate ricochet after being struck by an attempted clearance from Wesley.
The Portuguese broke clear from halfway and calmly tucked away his second goal of the tournament from the edge of the box.
Neto almost created another for Delap but his pull-back was cut out by Wesley and Chelsea had a penalty appeal rejected after Enzo Fernandez went down in the area.
Levi Colwill headed clear off the line after a Flamengo free-kick was slung into the area but it was not until the second period the Brazilians began to cause serious problems.
Where did the Chelsea fans go? 🐜 pic.twitter.com/L1C4v96toC
— Flamengo (@Flamengo_en) June 20, 2025
Gerson should have equalised when he cut back inside Colwill to create an opportunity but his mishit shot was intercepted by Trevoh Chalobah. It rebounded to Gonzalo Plata but he somehow poked wide.
Chelsea were inches away from a second when Leo Pereira, under pressure from Delap, clipped the ball narrowly past his own post but the Blues had little control.
They had another escape when Sanchez tipped over from Plata.
The equaliser came just after the hour when Plata headed back across goal and Henrique raced in to pounce at the back post.
Chelsea were reeling and were stung again just moments later as Henrique turned provider to head back a corner for Danilo to volley in.
Chelsea's capitulation continued as Jackson, just minutes after coming off the bench, was given his marching orders for a reckless challenge in which he caught Ayrton Lucas on the shin with force.
Yan rubbed salt in the wounds seven minutes from time when he readjusted and tucked home after getting in the way of a shot from team-mate Plata.
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