Chelsea got off to a winning start at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Monday night with a 2-0 win over MLS side Los Angeles FC.
The English side struggled to break down the Americans but the deadlock was broken in the 34th minute when Pedro Neto latched onto a through pass from Cole Palmer to bear gos marker and find the bottom right corner with a calm finish.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe goal was reviewed by the VAR and was deemed not to be offside as initially suspected.
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The second goal came 10 minutes before the final whistle as Enzo Fernandez got on to the end of Liam Delap’s weighted cross on his Chelsea debut since his move from relegated Ipswich Town.
LA Angeles FC paraded former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud who came off the substitute bench moments before his team conceded the second goal.
Chelsea now tops Group D and will face Brazilian side Flamengo on Friday.
Flamengo have in their ranks former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Jorginho.
LA Angeles FC will in Saturday take on African opposition Esperance des Tunis on Saturday evening.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.