Chelsea cruise into Club World Cup last 16 as Liam Delap nets first goal

Chelsea sealed a 3-0 win over Esperance to book their place in the Club World Cup last 16. Liam Delap scored his first goal for the Blues as Andrey Santos made his debut.

As expected, Chelsea secured their place in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup as runners-up in Group D by defeating Esperance de Tunis 3-0 on Tuesday (24th) in the third round. Once again, the London side did not deliver great football, partly justified by several players being rested at Lincoln Financial Field. At least, the competition brought confirmation of some good news.

Liam Delap, signed for £30m from Ipswich, had another strong performance and scored his first goal for the London club. In first-half stoppage time, the striker received the ball from Enzo Fernandez on the left side of the box, cut past his marker, and finished with a precise shot.

The number nine had already provided an assist on his debut against Los Angeles FC, a 2-0 win—though, like the rest of the Blues, he underperformed in the 3-1 loss to Flamengo. The central striker position has been an issue at Stamford Bridge for some time. Perhaps Delap can fill that role as fans hope.

? Liam Delap's first Blues goal

? @ChelseaFC advances

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— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 25, 2025

Andrey Santos makes his Club World Cup debut

While one 22-year-old shines, another 21-year-old is still searching for his place at Chelsea. After spending two full matches on the bench, Andrey Santos earned his first opportunity, coming on with 22 minutes left on the clock.

Even with limited time on the pitch, the Brazilian managed a good play—winning the ball in the attacking third and quickly firing a shot that was blocked—a play initially awarded a penalty, but overturned by the VAR. He also had 22 touches and completed 16 of his 17 passes.

The former Vasco midfielder has just returned from a loan spell as one of Ligue 1’s standouts at Strasbourg, but he has yet to fully convince the Italian manager.

Today, the midfield featured Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia as holding midfielders, with Moises Caicedo rested. Later, Dario Essugo, 20, recently arrived from Sporting, made his second appearance. In the match against Flamengo, the coach even chose right-back Reece James over Andrey.

“When it comes to players, we try to pick the right ones for the game plan. We chose Reece, he played well for 60 minutes, as did the others. Dario and Andrey will have their chances in the future,” he explained after the loss to the Brazilian side.

We will see if, now that he is played, Santos will get more opportunities for the Blues, who face Benfica next Saturday (28th) at 5pm BST. The winner will face Palmeiras or Botafogo, who play earlier that day at 1pm.

Chelsea struggle in first half but find their rhythm late

The Blues did little in a very lacklustre first half until two stoppage-time goals from Tosin Adarabioyo (off an Enzo free kick) and Delap. Despite dominating possession, Maresca’s side played slowly and predictably. That is why they struggled to create and only threatened with long-range shots from Delap and Josh Acheampong.

Besides those efforts, aerial balls—which later led to the first goal—were also dangerous. Early on, Benoit Badiashile headed a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall corner at the near post and nearly scored. Before the 20-minute mark, the same defender popped up in the box to redirect a Malo Gusto cross, but the defence cleared before the English striker could finish.

The Tunisian side, meanwhile, stuck to the expected script: sitting back and hoping for a chance. In a long ball forward in the 14th minute, Chelsea’s defence failed to clear and Yan Sasse volleyed just wide. The same player, between Chelsea’s stoppage-time goals, capitalised on an Adarabioyo mistake and found himself one-on-one with Jørgensen, who managed to clear the danger.

Blues manage the game and extend their lead

Without much effort, Chelsea sealed the win. By keeping possession, they managed the game to maintain their advantage and did not push too hard to extend it. Perhaps the best chance came in the 51st minute, when Delap made a great play and Enzo Fernández curled a shot over the bar.

In addition to the penalty overturned in Santos’s play, the London side came close again in stoppage time, with Ben Said making two big saves—first denying Marc Guiu one-on-one, then stopping a cross-shot from Tyrique George—but he failed to keep out George’s long-range strike, which resulted in an own goal.

Tyrique Georgeeee. ? pic.twitter.com/6xIBK3IN19

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 25, 2025

This article was originally published on Trivela.