A day after Botafogo stunned the soccer world with an insurmountable defense to beat the reigning UEFA Champions League winners, Chelsea failed to take the necessary precautions and ended up being beaten 3-1 by Flamengo, in yet another victory for South American teams against Europeans in the Club World Cup.
Contrary to what the Blues might have expected, Flamengo didn't let go of their convictions and pushed forward their marking, leaving Chelsea very uncomfortable on the ball, involving the presence of their main technical references such as Jorginho, Ayrton Lucas, Gerson and Giorgian De Arrascaeta, all under the command of coach Filipe Luís.
Chelsea looked like they were going to be able to put the game to rest when they took full advantage of a fatal error by the Rio de Janeiro side, when Wesley misplaced his pass to Pulgar and left Pedro Neto free to run the length of the pitch and beat goalkeeper Rossi, leaving the Brazilian fans worried.
However, Flamengo dictated the pace of the match and controlled the action for the rest of the first half without fearing Chelsea, coming close to an equalizer when Gerson appeared free at the far post (in yet another move that exposed the Blues' fragility in the air) and was stopped by Colwill, who cut the ball out on the line.
But what was really impressive was Flamengo's second-half display of intensity and quick transitions, with Filipe Luís improving his team even more when Bruno Henrique came on for Arrascaeta, only to score the equalizer shortly afterwards, coming completely free in the box from Gonzalo Plata's deflection.
Strongly supported by their fans in the stands, Flamengo quickly turned the game around with Danilo taking advantage of Bruno Henrique's cross. And just when Chelsea needed a reaction, Nicolas Jackson (who had replaced Cole Palmer) was shown a straight red card after only four minutes on the pitch, facilitating Flamengo's third goal through Gonzalo Plata.
Enzo Maresca continues to fail at the helm of Chelsea
As well as a lack of tactical balance and a weakness in defending crosses into the box, Chelsea also showed that they still have a coach who makes bad decisions in games, a fatal error being when Enzo Maresca took off Cole Palmer and Liam Delap. Even if they are in pre-season form, an elimination in the group stage would be completely shameful.