Witnessing an exciting future for club and country as Chelsea duo shine in Club World Cup opener

Chelsea got the British clubs rolling at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory over MLS outfit LAFC.

Pedro Neto's first half strike and Enzo Fernandez's late effort in the second gave Chelsea a deserved three points, despite the hard work and strong efforts from LAFC.

Chelsea showed patience in their performance, but could have been caught out in the second period as LAFC upped their attacking game, forcing keeper Robert Sanchez into a few smart saves, while blazing a handful of half chances wide or over.

In the end Chelsea's experience and quality showed, with Cole Palmer linking with new signing Liam Delap to set up a superb second goal for Fernandez to seal a good night for Enzo Maresca's men.

DAZN News looks at the key talking points and fallout from the Group D match.

Chelsea v LAFC match highlights

 

Cole-Delap - a sign of things to come

£30million signing Liam Delap started on the bench for Chelsea, but made an immediate impact once unleashed in Atlanta on 64 minutes.

Within two minutes the signing from Ipswich raced down the right, broke into the box, barged off his defender as he got to the byline and squared the ball into the six-yard box, only for no Chelsea player to react quick enough to finish.

LAFC failed to learn their lesson and Delap soon created the second goal to seal the game.

Palmer coolly controlled the ball on the right and waited for his options, which Delap duly delivered, racing down the right again. Palmer's pass was a thing of beauty, perfectly timed, as was Delap's right footed cross to find Fernandez in the six-yard box, who tapped in.

That moment of brilliant link play between Palmer and Delap, seemingly showing an immediate understanding between the young English pair, is something that will get both Chelsea and England fans very excited.

How many times could we see Palmer-Delap-Goal in the new Premier League season and.... potentially in next summer's World Cup?

Delap told DAZN post-match: "I'm very excited to be here and so happy the first game has gone so well. I feel I am settling in well and quickly, the team have looked after me really well.

"It is really important to help the team and get assists, but I want to score goals too.

"Competition [with Nicolas Jackson] is important and I know it will be hard to get into the side. But that's why I'm here."

 

Jackson inspired by looming Delap shadow

Having said all that, Nicolas Jackson showed he will not let go of this starting position easily.

The Senegal striker continues to divide the opinion of Chelsea fans and pundits alike, after just 24 goals in 62 appearances since arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2023.

Delap's arrival from Ipswich has even casted doubt over Jackson's future at the Premier League club, although manager Enzo Maresca insists he is still very much in his plans.

It looks like Delap's signing and threat of taking the starting striker berth could be the competition Jackson needs to fulfil his potential.

Against LAFC the forward was a handful throughout the match. His physicality and high work rate exhausted the MLS defenders, becoming Chelsea's main creative threat.

Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Early on he put in Madueke, who forced a good reaction save from Hugo Lloris, before turning provider for Neto's opening goal.

Turning his man under pressure on the half way line, Jackson spun to the right and timed his through ball to Neto perfectly, to allow the winger to race in on goal to score.

Jackson had a quieter second half, but almost had a goal himself when his header from a Neto cross was cleared off the line, with Lloris well beaten.

Subbed off on 64 minutes for Delap, Jackson gave the new man a high five and hug to wish him well.

However, he also knows he sent a message to his new teammate not to expect to just walk into the starting Xl.

A mature performance for patient Chelsea

A lot of has been made this season of Chelsea's young squad and it was a main reason that Maresca continually denied his side were Premier League title contenders even when they were challenging at the top of the table early in the season.

He was proved right, after a mid-season slump saw them drop down the league. But their strong finish to the season, winning the UEFA Conference League and finishing in the top four in the Premier League to seal a Champions League spot, demonstrated how quickly this squad has grown up.

That was evident in this match. On a night in dry conditions, with a flat atmosphere, at the end of an exhausting season and against a fresh side only midway through their own campaign, all the signs and excuses where there for a Chelsea slip up.

However that never looked likely, as Chelsea put in a mature, calm, professional display.

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In the first period Maresca's side deliberately took their time, controlling the game and the pace, ensuring LAFC got no sniff in the contest to give them any confidence to cause an upset.

They stretched their opponents, tiring them out, choosing their moments to strike, with two excellent goals.

Yes, LAFC had their moments in the second half, but in truth Chelsea were always comfortable and you felt they could have gone up the gears if they had needed to.

Both goals oozed class, showing the Stamford Bridge outfit have the ability to mix it with anyone in this competition.

On this showing they will grow and improve as the tournament goes on and will be one of the teams to beat.

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