By Daily Sports Nigeria on June 17, 2025

Liam Delap made his debut as Chelsea won their Club World Cup opener against Los Angeles FC in front of thousands of empty seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Pedro Neto's near-post shot after being sent clear in the first half was followed by a close-range tap-in from Enzo Fernandez, assisted by Delap's fine cross from the right.

However, the major talking point was an official attendance of just 22,137 fans inside the 71,000-seater arena.

Those in the ground witnessed a laboured performance by Chelsea, but their finishing quality sealed victory with striker Delap impressing as a 64th-minute substitute following his £30m move from Ipswich this month.

Underdogs LAFC, featuring World Cup-winning French duo Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris, caused problems but could not take chances which fell to Denis Bouanga and substitute David Martinez.

Midfielder Dario Essugo also made his debut for Chelsea, who have now won eight of their past nine matches, including the Conference League final.

Chelsea have a very exciting new attacker if Delap's debut is anything to go by.

The England Under-21s forward, who withdrew from Lee Carsley's international squad to play in the Club World Cup, picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and drove at LAFC captain Aaron Long, almost setting up Fernandez in the process.

Just moments later his chipped cross was tapped home by the midfielder, while he almost provided another assist after dribbling 25 yards in his final action of the game.

There are concerns about the attendance at the match in Atlanta, just one year before the 2026 World Cup.

A large number of locals seemed oblivious to a major international club match at their stadium this week, with a Power Rangers convention and UFC event vying for their attention.

But high ticket prices, minimal local marketing efforts and the game kicking off at 3pm local time on a weekday were cited as other factors behind the poor turnout.

This is a city boasting the highest attendances in Major League Soccer (MLS), with Atlanta United attracting an average 44,037 fans.

More than 70,000 supporters watched Chelsea face Newcastle in a friendly at this stadium two years ago. BBC Sport has contacted Fifa for comment.

Source BBC Sports

Posted June 17, 2025

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