Chelsea face Flamengo in the Club World Cup tonight, and we’re expecting a really good game.
There were some pretty dire matches in the opening round of fixtures, both drab 0-0s and embarrassing 10-0s. But things have improved since then, and Inter Miami’s win over Porto last night was a proper upset to hopefully get things into gear.
South American teams are undefeated in this competition so far, and that should be no surprise. They are always looking for a chance to test themselves against European opposition, and this tournament is accordingly huge for them.
They’ve travelled in big numbers to the USA, and will be especially hyped to play Chelsea tonight, with our current and past Brazilian connections.
Former Blue Jorginho will be playing for the Rio club, and they’re managed by one time Chelsea left back Filipe Luis. David Luiz was playing there until earlier this year, and has also had his say on the game.
Luiz on “great game” between former clubs
“I think it’s going to be a great game”, the Champions League winning centre back said.
“Chelsea have been on an upward curve, with new ideas, new players – they’re a new side. The club was under a different owner when I was there, and a lot has changed since. There’s a new chairman, long contracts for young players, a lot of changes have been made to try and grow the team over the past few years, and we’re seeing the results!”
Betting sites like Betway have the Blues as favourites, of course, but it will likely be a very tough, very close game. Enzo Maresca has already admitted that he’s going to change up his team quite significantly after playing effectively a full strength XI in the first game against LAFC.
Chelsea could be involved in thriller
So a slightly weakened Chelsea against a really motivated Flamengo? It could be a great game. The temperatures and kick off time in Philadelphia should make conditions better than they have been for some of the other games, and we can only hope there’s a better crowd than there was in Atlanta on Monday night.
Andrey Santos will be really keen to play against a team that is the rival of his former team Vasco, and the likes of Dario Essugo and Liam Delap will be itching to make a first competitive start for the Blues.
We’re excited for this one.
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