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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jacob Steinberg at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Delap impact helps Chelsea see off LAFC at Club World Cup but fans stay away

Enzo Fernández celebrates with new Chelsea teammate Liam Delap after scoring their second goal.
Enzo Fernández celebrates with new Chelsea teammate Liam Delap after scoring their second goal. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

The good news for the marketing gurus at Fifa is that the 22,137 fans who turned up to watch Chelsea cruise past Los Angeles FC in their Club World Cup opener at least witnessed the surge of excitement provided by Liam Delap coming off the bench to spark an otherwise forgettable contest into life on his debut.

In reality this will not go down as one of the great sporting occasions. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium can hold crowds of 75,000 but staging this match at 3pm on a Monday afternoon was probably not the wisest scheduling move.

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