Chelsea bought Liam Delap to score goals but they will not complain if their new No 9 also makes them. There is range to Delap’s game and this was an impressive start from the 22-year-old, whose late assist for Enzo Fernández ensured that his new side opened their Club World Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win overLos Angeles FC.
Enzo Maresca will be pleased. There is healthy competition for places in attack now that Delap has joined for the bargain price of £30m. Nicolas Jackson looks ready for the battle. He responded well, setting up the opening goal for Pedro Neto asChelseacruised past limited opposition from Major League Soccer in Group D.
As for Fifa, the disappointment was that so few supporters were there to witness it. A mid-afternoon kick-off did not help draw in the crowds at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where 22,137 fans were present in a ground that can hold 75,000.
The low turnout was all the more embarrassing given that this is not a place where football usually suffers from a lack of attention. This is the self-styled centre of soccer in the US, so much so that the new National Training Centre is being built on a 200-acre site a half-hour drive from the city, but few locals seemed aware this game was taking place.
Ticket prices had tumbled in the hours before kick-off, the upper tiers were shut and the unfortunate effect of so many empty seats was making it seem as if the organisers had decided to amuse themselves with some kind of social-distancing experiment.
At least the small pocket of noisy LAFC fans behind one of the goals tried to build an atmosphere. It was worth remembering, though, that this ground is not normally so quiet. Atlanta United, who play their MLS fixtures here, averaged attendances close to 45,000 last season, while over 70,000 supporters were present to watch Chelsea face Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly two years ago.
Of course, it did not help that nobody expected LAFC to offer much after winning a playoff against Club América.
They brought familiar faces to the party – Hugo Lloris started in goal and the former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud was on the bench – but the reality is that Steve Cherundolo’s side were only taking part because Club León were disqualified due to a breach of Fifa’s multi-club regulations.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will play in the Champions League next season, have the advantage of Premier League riches and are full of confidence after winning theConference League last month. This was never going to be a fair fight. It hardly mattered that Chelsea began with their £106.8m Argentina midfielder, Fernández, on the bench.
They were still too quick and strong LAFC during a one-sided first half and should have been ahead long before Neto opened the scoring shortly before half-time. Cole Palmer, ackson and Noni Madueke all went close to breaking the deadlock. LAFC struggled to deal with Chelsea’s width and they were not equipped to deal with the pace, power and movement of Jackson, whose starting place is under threat after the arrival of Delap from Ipswich.
Maresca will be encouraged to see the Senegal striker respond well to the extra competition in attack. Jackson was hungry and he was integral to the opening goal, dropping deep and playing a reverse pass down the right to release Neto, who cut inside and drove on to his left foot before slamming a low shot past Lloris.
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Chelsea, who are interested in the Lyon winger Malick Fofana, were untroubled at the other end. Maresca picked a familiar lineup and opted against starting any new signings, although fatigue was a concern. Roméo Lavia and Reece James are still being carefully managed and were replaced by Fernández and Malo Gusto at half-time.
LAFC also made changes. There was farce when Giroud’s entrance was delayed because he had no shirt. The master of the near-post flick stood on the touchline, topless and bemused until a teammate ferried over a new one.
And maybe the slapstick got to Chelsea, who made a sluggish start to the second half. David Martínez, an LAFC substitute, twice threatened after beating Marc Cucurella, and Denis Bouanga drew a good save from Robert Sánchez after bursting through on the left.
Maresca responded by replacing Jackson with Delap. The striker was soon involved, driving down the right and almost giving Fernández a tap-in. Neto then set up Palmer, who shot wastefully over.
Chelsea duly restored order during the closing stages, pulling clear when Delap crossed for Fernández to make it 2-0.
There was concern when Moises Caicedo went down with cramp. However, perhaps the fact that clubs can pocket $2m through group-stage victories will make the pain easier to ignore.