Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca praised his players for staying focused amid an "unusual" atmosphere after opening their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in front of a largely empty stadium.
The Blues kicked off Group D play at Atlanta’s 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday afternoon, but only 22,137 fans were in attendance, fueling ongoing debate about the appeal of FIFA’s revamped tournament.
“The environment was a bit strange – the stadium was nearly empty, not full,” Maresca said in his postgame news conference. “But the players managed it well.
“We are professional and we have to adapt to the situation, to the environment. You have to adapt when you play with a full stadium. You have to adapt when the stadium is not full, but it doesn’t matter.”
Asked about the poor attendance, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo was diplomatic.
“I think it is different each game you look at,” Cherundolo said. “In the Rose Bowl in L.A., there was a huge crowd for the game between PSG and Atletico Madrid. Maybe L.A. likes football more than Atlanta? I don’t know. We should judge at the end.”
Maresca was nevertheless pleased with Chelsea’s performance but was already looking ahead to Friday’s clash with Flamengo in Philadelphia.
Pedro Neto broke the deadlock in the 34th minute to give the Premier League side a deserved lead at the interval. They wrapped up victory in the 79th minute when summer signing Liam Delap crossed for fellow substitute Enzo Fernandez to tap in from close range.
Maresca praised debutant Delap and quickly turned his attention to the upcoming fixture against the Brazilian outfit.
“Very good result,” Maresca told Channel 5. “At this stage of the season, it is also normal that you have to manage different kinds of things. Overall, the performance has been good.
“We have to recover. We have a game in three days, so we will see. We are going to prepare in the best way and for sure try to win.
“The good thing about Liam is he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick. Also, we gave a chance to Dario Essugo, which is another player we have, so it’s good for both of them.”
Delap, who signed from Ipswich for 30 million pounds ($40.7 million) 12 days ago, needed just 15 minutes to register his first goal contribution.
“It’s a really happy feeling for me,” the 22-year-old said. “I’m so excited to be here and to play my first game, and to be able to contribute is a good feeling.
“The team have welcomed me really well. I’ve only had a few sessions here, but I am excited for more.
“It is good to help the team, but I want to score some as well.
“It is always good to have competition – this is football. It is an incredible club and it is always going to be incredibly hard, but you have to thrive off the competition.”
