With Chelsea having secured Champions League football at the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, things looked more positive for Enzo Maresca’s side.
Since taking over last summer, he’s done an admirable job in the Stamford Bridge hot seat, notably winning the Conference League on the way to sealing that top-four place.
It’s rare you get the chance to win major silverware over the summer too, but Chelsea have been presented with that at this year’s revamped Club World Cup.
How to Watch the FIFA Club World Cup for Free
Everything you need to know about the Club World Cup.
ByCharlie Smith
However, in true Chelsea fashion, they’ve had a topsy-turvy time of it out in the United States.
They won their first game 2-0 against LAFC but were embarrassed by Brazilian opposition, Flamengo, 3-1 on Friday night.
“We know we could hurt them in some areas”, said former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho after the game. Having recently left Arsenal, the veteran rolled back the years against his ex-employers, notably winning possession more times (8) than Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo (7) put together.
Jorginho wasn’t the only one out there embarrassing Chelsea players, as Nicolas Jackson will testify.
Jackson’s moment of madness against Flamengo
Chelsea actually started their game against Flamengo in fantastic fashion.
Pedro Neto – who scored against LA a few days ago – was on hand once again to find the back of the net.
Sadly, it all went pear-shaped in the second half when goals from Wallace, Danilo and Bruno Henrique sealed all three points.
At 2-1 down, their cause certainly wasn’t helped by Jackson. Only a matter of months ago, the striker nearly ruined Chelsea’s top five hopes by getting sent off at Newcastle and he let his teammates down again on Friday.
Liam Delap – fresh off assisting Fernandez’s goal in their Club World Cup opener – started the game but didn’t enjoy as much success this time around, subbed off in the 64th minute for Jackson.
Well, just four minutes later, the Senegalese forward found himself back in the locker room after being sent for an early bath.
Jackson lunged in late with his studs and the referee saw no other option but to send him off. Celebrating his 24th birthday, it’s safe to say this wasn’t the happiest of occasions for the forward.
Chelsea have already been in the market for upgrades to their forward line this summer and in Delap, they have already signed a fine rival. Yet, amid links to players like Victor Osimhen and Hugo Ekitike, perhaps BlueCo just better cut their losses on the player now.
As bad as Jackson was, he wasn’t the only culprit in the defeat.
What else went wrong for Chelsea against Flamengo
Jackson will and should no doubt take much of the blame but Chelsea’s defence put in a rather shambolic performance at the back.
Starting with Flamengo’s equaliser, it was right-back Malo Gusto who failed to cover himself in much glory. He was caught out by a deep cross to the back post where Gonzalo Plata got free of every defender.
Poor positioning from Trevor Chalobah and Levi Colwill subsequently allowed Plata to head the ball back across goal where Henrique had a tap-in.
Gusto was once again caught out for the second when he was easily beaten to the ball by the aforementioned Henrique from a corner, with the ball then finding itself to Danilo who converted another tap-in for the Brazilians.
The third was largely down to Colwill, who failed to clear following a bit of pinball in the area. The result? A third and final goal for Flamengo, capping off a truly woeful day for Chelsea’s defence.
Now, while he was far from the worst defender on Friday, Chalobah certainly didn’t have a good night either. Colwill and Gusto made the big mistakes, but the central defender is only proving why Chelsea should be looking to get rid.
Chalobah came back to the club in January after half a season on loan at Crystal Palace and truth be told, that feels like his level.
Minutes played
90
Touches
61
Accurate passes
58/59 (98%)
Key passes
0
Ground duels won
0/0
Aerial duels won
1/1
Clearances
2
Interceptions
0
Tackles
0
The Express’ Sam Smith summed things up nicely post-game, handing the Englishman a 5/10 match rating.
He wrote that Chalobah will need “to produce better performances if he is to win admirers in the transfer market,” indicating that a “move for the defender seems likely” amid interest from Italian side Napoli.
Remarkably, Chalobah started ten league games after being recalled over the winter but following Chelsea’s nightmare at St James’ Park, he sat out the remaining games, wins over Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, where clean sheets were kept in both matches.
The defender also sat out of the 2-0 win against LA earlier this week, only further indicating that he should probably be on the bench.
Still, with interest from Naples brewing and the Blues looking at signing players such as Jorrel Hato, space must be opened up for upgrades.
If Maresca has any sense, this could well have been the last time we saw Chalobah in Chelsea colours. Like Jackson, a move elsewhere surely beckons.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Qualified teams, format, venues & how to watch
The FIFA Club World Cup takes place this summer, with plenty of teams set to head to the United States in July 2025.
ByRoss Kilvington