ES Tunis 0–3 Chelsea: Player Ratings As Liam Delap Scores First Blues Goal

Christopher Nkunku and Liam Delap celebrate the latter's first goal for Chelsea. | Lee Smith-Reuters via Imagn Images

Chelsea defeated ES Tunis to advance to the round of 16 in the FIFA Club World Cup where they'll meet Benfica.

The stakes on the night were simple for Chelsea. A win or draw would see them through to the next stage as second place finishers in Group D. ES Tunis would need a win on the night to advance as Flamengo was already confirmed as group winners and LAFC as one of two eliminated teams.

Enzo Maresca's rotated lineup had look on different pages for most of the first half. Players were visibly frustrated at times. ES Tunis poked and prodded early, but struggled to find the final bit of quality in Chelsea's box.

The Tunisian side set up in a low block out of possession stymying the Blues who couldn't find a way through. Chelsea finally found a breakthrough in first half stoppage time through a set piece. Tosin Adarabioyo met an Enzo Fernandez free-kick in the air directing the ball to ES Tunis's far post and into the side netting. Liam Delap doubled the lead a minute later for his first Chelsea goal. Two moments that Chelsea needed desperately after an underwhelming first half.

Maresca made four changes in the second half and the Blues saw out the result. Tyrique George added a third off the bench in the dying moments of the game as well. Not the most convincing, yet solid performance for Chelsea capping off a rather disappointing group stage for the UEFA Conference League winners. They certainly didn't look dominant against LAFC, crumbled against Flamengo and were, while comfortable, not elite on the night. It was the best they've looked so far in the tournament, but room for improvement remains.

Benfica represent a real threat to Chelsea's tournament hopes in the round of 16.

Check out player ratings from the match below.