Chelsea began their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC, but it was the emptiness ; over 50,000 vacant seats at the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium that told a different story. Only 22,137 fans turned up to watch a fixture meant to showcase the best of global club football.
Still, among the empty rows and quiet applause, Chelsea found enough. Goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez sealed the result, but it was the debut of Liam Delap ; just 30 minutes long that added the intrigue.
The £30 million signing from Ipswich had only just arrived, but wasted no time in showing intent. Picking up the ball 30 yards from goal, he drove straight at LAFC captain Aaron Long and nearly created a goal on his first meaningful touch.
Moments later, a chipped cross from Delap found Fernandez unmarked for a simple tap-in. Then came another run, 25 yards of balance and control, almost teeing up a third. His brief cameo was enough to raise eyebrows.
Pedro Neto had opened the scoring with a near-post strike in the first half after breaking free. It was a moment of clarity in an otherwise sluggish performance from the Blues, who looked disjointed at times but rarely in real danger.
LAFC ; featuring 2018 World Cup winners Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris had chances. Denis Bouanga was wasteful, and substitute David Martinez couldn’t convert a late opportunity. The underdogs fought, but lacked the edge to punish Chelsea’s lapses.
Chelsea, who also handed a debut to teenage midfielder Dario Essugo, have now won eight of their last nine matches a; run that includes lifting the UEFA Conference League title.
