Marc Cucurella sends Chelsea message after Stan Collymore hits out, Reece James responds
Chelsea are on a wave of momentum after they produced a dominant performance to win their FIFA Club World Cup opener.
Only the Atlanta heat forced Enzo Maresca’s side to break sweat as they easily dispatched LAFC 2-0 to begin their tournament on the front foot, fresh off their UEFA Conference League final victory last month.
Maresca‘s Blues capitalised on their first-half dominance when Nicolas Jackson teed up Pedro Neto for their opener, and new arrival Liam Delap also notched an debut assist for Enzo Fernandez’s late clincher.
Chelsea sit joint-top of Group D as the first round of Club World Cup fixtures continues, and with games against Flamengo and Esperance de Tunis to come, the Londoners have started as they mean to go on.
Chelsea get ‘first W’ as Cucurella sends message to rally fans
The debuts of Delap and Dario Essugo added further gloss to a strong Chelsea display which also saw Maresca rotate his side in the second half, with first goalscorer Neto the only player to see out the full 90.
Other than Reece James‘ half-time withdrawal, Chelsea’s backline remained unchanged throughout, despite Cucurella being described by Stan Collymore as a “rabbit in headlights” at the start of the match.
The Spaniard quickly recovered though and impressed down the left flank to continue the strong form he showed for Chelsea last season, and took to Instagram (17 June) after Chelsea sealed the three points.
Cucurella‘s message read; “First [Win] in ATL” alongside a blue heart and American flag, as James and Fernandez both left likes alongside recently-departed goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.
Chelsea transfers to continue amid Club World Cup campaign
Cucurella’s place as Chelsea’s first-choice left-back is finally assured after his first truly consistent season of appearances and form at Stamford Bridge, but other additions will still be made elsewhere.
Delap’s bright debut saw him set up Fernandez within 15 minutes, but both he and Jackson could find themselves down the pecking order if Chelsea push through with an £85million move for Hugo Ekitike.
The goalkeeping department is also under scrutiny with Djordje Petrovic potentially on his way out, but if Chelsea go all the way in the Club World Cup, Maresca may have to think twice about his squad overhaul.