
Jacob Steinberg’s match report is in, detailing Chelsea’s quickfire second-half implosion. Thanks for reading!
Enzo Maresca gets his chat on, but he’s brief on Nicolas Jackson’s mistake: “It was a red card, so nothing to say.”
On the game itself: “Congratulations to them, they deserved to win. We tried to do something different during the game for next season, for the future.”
John Obi Mikel is fuming in the DAZN studio: “Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake,” he says of Nicolas Jackson’s red card. “He did that in the league game at Newcastle, a very important game. You can’t keep making mistakes.”
Filipe Luís speaks: “My heart is warm right now because of this. Bruno [Henrique] is special – doesn’t matter if he plays one minute, five minutes or 90, he always gives his heart.”
It’s clear that this means a lot to the Brazilian side. Meanwhile Chelsea took off Cole Palmer when they were 2-1 down.
FULL-TIME: Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea
The comeback is complete. Flamengo’s players are chuffed, as is Filipe Luís, who masterminded it with his substitutes.
90+7 min Chelsea are passing it around but struggling to get it into the mixer.
90+5 min Robert Sánchez is nearly dispossessed close to the halfway line, Chelsea doing their best to drive forward.
90+4 min Ian Copestake writes in:
It will be a forgotten tournament when the Premier League season starts but surely City and Chelsea will have bad starts to their seasons. Something is going g to have to give.
90+3 min Madueke jinks his way into the Flamengo area and goes down looking for a penalty but the referee shows little interest.
90+2 min Plata and Luiz Araújo make way for Pedro and Michael.
90+1 min We’ve got seven minutes added on as Flamengo’s supporters cheers every pass.
90 min Neto shoots, the ball is deflected and finds Guiu, his effort from close range saved. Chelsea have a corner.
89 min Caicedo wins a free-kick by the edge of the area – Gusto and Neto are over it.
88 min Chelsea are just cooked, aren’t they?
87 min Noni Madueke’s curler, aiming for the top right corner, is nowhere near it.
86 min Chelsea have a free-kick from central shooting range …
GOAL! Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea (Wallace Yan 83)
Another substitute goal! Wallace Yan has been on the pitch for mere seconds and he’s wrapped up the game. There’s a bit of luck involved as the 20-year-old gets in the way of Plata’s strike inside the area, the ball dropping for him to latch on to and slam past Sánchez.
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82 min Gerson and Wesley, both impressing, are replaced by Wallace Yan and Varela. Guiu and Madueke are on for Chelsea, with Enzo and Palmer off.
81 min Palmer finds Enzo with the ball into the area, but the Argentina midfielder loops his header over the bar.
79 min Enzo wins a free-kick for Chelsea in the right channel as Wesley goes down, maybe a bit cooked from all the hassle he’s done down Flamengo’s right today.
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76 min Flamengo work it patiently on the right-hand side before the ball falls nicely for Gerson inside the area – his curling effort doesn’t find the corner, instead flying straight at Sánchez.
74 min Gerson goes in the book for a foul on Cucurella and it’s time for another cooling break. Will Maresca unleash on his side in front of the fans? Nope, he’s pretty chilled out.
73 min Rob Coughlin wrote in when Chelsea were 1-0 up:
I’m busy at work keeping one eye on the match. As a Chelsea supporter, I couldn’t care less about winning this match. My only concern is keeping the squad healthy through this farcical tournament.
70 min Been tricky trying to keep track of the last few minutes but plenty of credit goes to Filipe Luís, the Flamengo manager. It’s his sub, Bruno Henrique, who has changed the rhythm, while Enzo Maresca probably regrets replacing Delap.
RED CARD! Nicolas Jackson is sent off
68 min: Chelsea are imploding, with Nicolas Jackson, who came on just minutes ago for Liam Delap, shown a straight red. It’s a dreadful challenge on Ayrton Lucas, planting his studs into the left-back’s shin.
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GOAL! Flamengo 2-1 Chelsea (Danilo 65)
What a turnaround! It’s Henrique who creates it this time round, getting on the end of a corner – he heads it across goal and Danilo volleys inside the six-yard box. Flamengo, celebrating right in front of their supporters, are in control.
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GOAL! Flamengo 1-1 Chelsea (Henrique 62)
The substitute brings Flamengo level! A cross comes in from the right to Plata, who heads it down across goal and Henrique is there for the tap in. It’s a well-deserved equaliser.
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59 min Flamengo continue wheeling it around before Cole Palmer is brought down by Lucas in midfield.
56 min Sánchez is good to continue and Chelsea nearly go two-up. A long ball forward causes a mix-up in the Flamengo defence, with Léo Pereira clearing over his keeper’s head. The ball travels just wide of the post.
56 min Henrique replaces De Arrascaeta for Flamengo – a surprise as the No 10 had impressed.
55 min Sánchez clashed with the post there as Plata tried to get the decisive touch and is getting some treatment.
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54 min Flamengo have their best chance as Gerson seizes upon a long punt forward, turns James inside the area and has a shot deflected before Plata fails to hook it in from close range as the ball spins past the far post.
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52 min Flamengo have a corner from their right – it’s wasted, driven low and deflected out for a Chelsea goalkick.
51 min James provides a lovely ball into the mix, and Cucurella, at the near post, glances the header just wide and past the other white shirts that were racing in for a final touch.
50 min Gusto, perhaps for the first time today, drives down the right for Chelsea and wins a free-kick.
49 min Delap finds space on the right-hand side but can’t create any joy when he cuts back a cross.
47 min Delap holds the ball up well to start a Chelsea attack but it breaks down with Neto’s unsuccessful cross from the left.
46 min Chelsea restart the game but Flamengo take control of the ball, playing out from the back.
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Flamengo are back on the pitch but Chelsea are taking their sweet, sweet time.
Correspondence from Justin Kavanagh:
Walking through a roasting Philadelphia this morning, I was heartened to see plenty of Flamengo shirts with the legend ZICO on the back. Hopefully there’s a Zico-in-nebulous-form waiting to explode onto the football world as a shooting star playing in today’s game. I suspect he might be wearing the iconic number 10 of Chelsea, however.
Elsewhere, the biggest deal of the summer has been confirmed.
HALF-TIME: Flamengo 0-1 Chelsea
Pedro Neto’s goal is the difference. This game has a bit of edge to it, Chelsea having landed three names in the ref’s book.
45+4 min Cucurella heads to safety after the lively De Arrascaeta crosses from the left.
45+2 min Delap shows his fiery side, getting himself a yellow for taking down Pereira.
45+1 min They’ve had a look and said carry on.
45 min Chelsea think they should have a penalty for a shirt-pull by Gerson on Enzo and we’re having a VAR check …
44 min Neto breaks away on the right and crosses for Delap in the middle but Wesley intervenes in time.
43 min De Arrascaeta whips a fine ball in, it’s struck into the ground by the man free at the far post and Colwill clears off the line with a header!
42 min The Cucurella-Wesley battle is proving interesting – the Chelsea left-back takes the Flamengo right-back down. Free-kick.
41 min James gives the ball away with a careless pass in midfield but it doesn’t cause Chelsea any serious issues.
39 min Reece James lays the ball off before Palmer whips it in – it’s not deep enough in the area to become dangerous.
38 min Neto has acres of space down the left but instead of driving forward holds it back as Chelsea begin passing it around. The move ends with a free-kick for the Blues as Cole Palmer is pulled down on the right by Jorginho.
36 min James dinks a ball forward, trying to find Neto inside the area, but nothing comes of it.
35 min Caicedo goes down for Chelsea as Chalobah drives forward before Delap drops deep to try get an attack going. He proves unsuccessful.
33 min Jorginho gets a good look at the ball as Flamengo wheel it around.
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32 min We’re all cool again.
30 min Time for a good old cooling break. Maresca gets the tactics board out, aware that his side haven’t been all that special.
29 min Neto, surrounded by red-and-black shirts on Chelsea’s left wing, does a brilliant job to keep hold of the ball, nutmegging Danilo before Delap hassles away up top.
26 min Wesley is very much in the game as he cuts back a dangerous cross, but the offside flag is up. Cucurella is having to do plenty of work running back.
25 min Flamengo continue to look bright going forward as Wesley makes another decent run down the right – but his cross is poor.
24 min The ball is sent low by Araújo, and Cucurella gets a boot in the way to clear for a corner.
23 min Wesley, the Flamengo right-back, makes a tidy run and is brought down outside the area by Neto. The Chelsea winger gets a yellow, Flamengo a strong free-kick position.
22 min Flamengo string together some nice passes but the move breaks down when Plata places a wayward ball to the left.
21 min Cucurella has plenty of space out on the left but Caicedo loses the ball in midfield as Flamengo work it around at the back.
20 min Flamengo supporters remain in good voice as Caicedo is fouled in midfield.
16 min Plata’s cross from the right finds Sánchez, with Flamego lacking a little in composure when they enter the final third.
GOAL! Flamengo 0-1 Chelsea (Neto 13)
Flamengo have a free-kick out on the left but the dinked ball in doesn’t cause any problems. Instead comes some comical defending on the halfway line by the Brazilian side, a series of ricochets landing favourably for Neto.
He has plenty of space in front of him, drives into the area, and slots through with a small deflection off Rossi. That’s two in two for the winger.
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11 min Caicedo lands in the book after bringing down Jorginho, the Chelsea old boy.
10 min Gerson makes a nice run down the right and plays a reverse-ball to De Arrascaeta, drifting into the area, but the Flamengo No 10’s pass across goal finds Sánchez.
9 min Flamengo are looking lively, their passes cutting through a Chelsea side yet to properly get going.
7 min The corner doesn’t cause Flamengo any bother and they have an opening on the left-hand side, with Luiz Araújo skipping into the Chelsea area – but Caicedo intervenes in time.
6 min Liam Delap breaks free on the right side of the Flamengo area but just delays his shot a touch – he does let fly, forcing Rossi to palm the ball away for a corner.
4 min Sánchez provides two wayward kicks from the back to land Chelsea in trouble but a toe-punt from De Arrascaeta, from outside the area, flies high.
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2 min There are plenty of balloons on the pitch, making this a slightly awkward viewing experience.
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1 min Levi Colwill is quick to bring down Flamengo’s Gerson and leave him in a bit of bother.
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Peeeep!
Chelsea are in white today, and it doesn’t appear to be a packed house.
The players are doing their individual walk-ons, with an overexcited stadium announcer doing his thing. ENZOOOO FERNÁNDEZ!
I was a little thrown by the presence of Matheus Cunha on Flamengo’s bench. No, it’s not that one. And we’ve got two former Manchester United players on the DAZN coverage in Kléberson and John Obi Mikel. Sort of.
“I just don’t like the smelly planes. That’s why I wear a mask. When I travel I don’t like the smells so that’s why I wear them.”
Alas, not a nod from Cole Palmer to the opening scene of The Dark Knight Rises.
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The teams
Jorginho, key in helping Chelsea get here – he was in the middle of the park when they won the Champions League – starts for Flamengo. They’re managed by the former Blues left-back Filipe Luís.
Flamengo: Rossi, Wesley, Danilo, Pereira, Lucas, Erick, Jorginho, De Arrascaeta, Gerson, Araújo, Plata
Subs: Cunha, Varela, Ortiz, João Victor, Alex Sandro, Viña, Pedro, Evertton Araujo, Allan, Matheus Gonçalves, Cebolinha, Juninho, Bruno Henrique, Michael, Wallace Yan
Chelsea: Sánchez, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernández, Palmer, Neto, Gusto, Delap
Subs: Jørgensen, Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Sarr, Anselmino, Essugo, Lavia, Andrey Santos, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, George, Nkunku, Jackson, Guiu
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Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another day at this somewhat dystopian tournament, one of empty seats, unbearable heat and Donald Trump acting like Donald Trump. So as we approach the end of the universe, here’s Flamengo versus Chelsea!
The 2022 Copa Libertadores champions meet the 2021 Champions League winners, both sides triumphing 2-0 in their opening contests. Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernández were the goalscorers for Chelsea against Los Angeles FC though it was Liam Delap’s assist that made the headline – he make his first start for the club today. Kick-off’s at 7pm BST, 2pm EDT. It’s absolutely roasting in Philadelphia.