Chelsea 2–0 LAFC – Chelsea kicked off their Club World Cup campaign.

Match Performance

• Chelsea started strongly, with Nicolas Jackson assisting Pedro Neto in the 34th minute to break the deadlock. Substitute Liam Delap, who joined the club for around £30 million just 12 days ago, came on in the 63rd minute and provided a pivotal cross for Enzo Fernández, sealing the 2–0 win the42.ie+15thetimes.co.uk+15youtube.com+15.

• Jackson’s dynamic play—an inch-perfect through ball to Neto—set the tone, while Delap’s assist underlined the striker depth Maresca is building timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

 Attendance & Atmosphere

• The game pulled a mere ~22,100 fans into the 71,000-seat Mercedes‑Benz Stadium, leaving nearly 50,000 empty seats and creating an unusual matchday vibe youtube.com+12thetimes.co.uk+12thescore.com+12.

• Contributing factors included:

  1. 3 p.m. Monday kickoff, inconvenient for local supporters and likely tailored to European TV slots en.wikipedia.org+10thetimes.co.uk+10nypost.com+10.

  2. High ticket prices—ranging from $83 to $228—and even late reductions failed to boost turnout, prompting officials to shift fans down from upper levels jamaicaobserver.com+1nypost.com+1.

  3. Despite Atlanta United’s strong support history (approaching 44–70k regularly), the novelty of the Club World Cup didn’t attract local crowds this time theguardian.com+7thetimes.co.uk+7jamaicaobserver.com+7.

🎙 Maresca’s Reactions

“The environment was a bit strange. The stadium was almost empty.”
Maresca highlighted the eerie feel of playing in a mostly vacant stadium but emphasized the team’s professionalism and focus jamaicaobserver.com+7channelnewsasia.com+7thetimes.co.uk+7theplayoffs.news+15reuters.com+15independent.co.uk+15.

• He acknowledged that players must adapt to both full and empty venues:

  “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.” independent.co.uk

• Looking ahead, he expressed optimism: Flamengo’s upcoming fixture in Philadelphia is expected to generate a far more vibrant atmosphere thanks to their passionate fanbase