Philadelphia (AFP) – Substitute Bruno Henrique played a starring role as Flamengo came roaring back in the second half to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Club World Cup on Friday, maintaining an impressive record for South American teams so far at the competition.
Pedro Neto had given Chelsea the lead in the first half, but Flamengo, roared on by their frenzied supporters who made up the majority of the 54,019 crowd, did not deserve to be behind and produced a stunning fightback after the interval. Bruno Henrique came off the bench in the 56th minute and equalised for the Brazilian giants just after the hour mark before setting up Danilo to make it 2-1. Chelsea were stunned, and their hopes of pulling level again were effectively destroyed when substitute Nicolas Jackson was sent off in the 68th minute.
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Wallace Yan, also on as a substitute, then sealed the victory for the Rio de Janeiro club, the Brazilian league leaders, when he made it 3-1 late on. “It was a special day for me and our club,” said Flamengo coach Filipe Luis, a former Chelsea player. “We knew we would have chances against Chelsea because we have one way to play and they know how to follow that path. I am really happy with the game, but it is just one win. Now we have to think about the next game and try to go through this group phase because it is not easy.”
Flamengo have two wins from two at the tournament, and their qualification for the last 16 from Group D was assured later when Esperance of Tunisia beat Los Angeles FC 1-0. Chelsea were unable to repeat the victory obtained in their opening game against LAFC but will be hopeful of securing a place in the knockout phase in their final group outing against Esperance. “Unfortunately we conceded two goals in a very short period, a very short moment, and then the red card, and then I think it’s very complicated to come back in the game,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told broadcaster DAZN. “We tried, but congratulations to them. I think they deserved to win.”
The result follows Botafogo’s stunning success against European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday, stretching the unbeaten start for South American clubs at the competition to nine matches. Maresca made four changes to his line-up following the win over LAFC in Atlanta, with new signing Liam Delap coming in for his first start up front. Delap had an early effort tipped over, but it was Neto who gave Chelsea the lead in the 13th minute as he pounced on a slip by Wesley to run through and score a second goal in as many games at FIFA’s new competition.
Flamengo applied plenty of pressure in the first half without really looking like scoring, but it was a different story after the break. They nearly drew level on 54 minutes when Gerson pounced on a mistake by Reece James and tried to pick his spot in the corner. His connection was poor, and the arriving Gonzalo Plata could not turn the ball in at the back post. The 34-year-old Bruno Henrique, capped twice by Brazil earlier in his career, then came on as the pendulum swung further towards Flamengo.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez tipped over a shot by Plata just before the equaliser came on 62 minutes. A Gerson cross was headed back across goal by Plata, and Bruno Henrique was there to turn it in, sparking wild celebrations among the Brazilian fans clad in red and black at Lincoln Financial Field. Three minutes later Flamengo were ahead as a corner was headed down by Bruno Henrique, and former Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Juventus defender Danilo converted.
Jackson then saw red for raking his studs into the shin of Ayrton Lucas, leaving Chelsea to finish the game a man short. Enzo Fernandez was not far away from equalising, but then Flamengo wrapped up the win seven minutes from time as a Plata shot struck Wallace Yan and the ball fell kindly for the substitute to fire in.
© 2024 AFP
