Chelsea won their FIFA Club World Cup opener 2-0 against Los Angeles FC in front of thousands of empty seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday night.
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, after a fine cross from debutant striker Liam Delap.
However, the major talking point was an official attendance figure of just 22,137 fans inside the 71,000-seater arena.
Those in the ground witnessed a laboured performance from the Blues, but ultimately finishing quality sealed victory for the English Premier League side, with Delap exciting on his debut after 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 UEFA 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 substitute midfielder, while he almost provided another assist after dribbling 25 yards in his final action of the match.
