It would be easier for Chelsea to rationalise the humiliation of being swatted aside by Flamengo on Friday night, Nigeria time, if another statement win for South America could be attributed solely to Nicolas Jackson’s latest rush of blood to the head.
Unfortunately, this was also a dreadful afternoon for Enzo Maresca, who got his tactics wrong and somehow found a way to produce the self-sabotage of treating the Lincoln Financial Field stadium to a masterclass on how to neutralise Cole Palmer.
So much for all the hype about Palmer taking the No 10 shirt. Why leave him isolated on the right? Palmer yearned for his normal central role and he did not look impressed when he went off in the 82nd minute, by which point Flamengo were 2-1 up, in possession of a one-man advantage and presumably very happy to see Maresca remove Chelsea’s likeliest source of salvaging something from the wreckage of their six-minute implosion midway through the second half.
Not that Chelsea deserved anything other than a defeat that leaves their hopes of reaching the knockout phase of the Club World Cup as winners of Group D in peril.
Maresca’s lineup was weirdly clunky – he decided to forgo width by dropping Noni Madueke and moving Reece James into a stolid midfield – and he was outsmarted by Flamengo’s manager, Filipe Luís.
Some substitutions win you games; some lose them. For Flamengo there was a stunning contribution from Bruno Henrique, who was thrown on in the 56th minute and in the right place to equalise six minutes later.
Chelsea, on the other hand, were left trying to make sense of Jackson’s indiscipline. The striker came on for Liam Delap in the 64th minute, watched Danilo give Flamengo the lead moments later, and then picked up a red card for a crude lunge on Ayrton Lucas four minutes after entering the field of play.
It seems nothing has been taken on board in the six weeks since Jackson was sent off for elbowing Newcastle United’s Sven Botman, in a game that threatened to derail Chelsea’s push for Champions League qualification.
This was the Senegal forward’s second red card in four appearances and if this is how he intends to respond to competition from Delap, then he cannot expect Maresca to trust him with the responsibility of leading the line for Chelsea.
A heartfelt apology on Instagram did little to repair the damage caused by Jackson, whose one-game ban could be upgraded by Fifa.
“It happened against Newcastle, it happened today,” Maresca said. “I am not 100% sure it is a red card compared to the Newcastle one. It is a bad moment for Nico. He will be out for a while. Nico apologised.”
The folly typified Chelsea’s lack of control. Flamengo, who are top of the Brazilian league, played with more balance and imagination.
Wesley flew forward from right-back and Gerson was outstanding in attacking midfield. Gonzalo Plata finished with two assists and Jorginho, the former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder, pulled the strings with his clever switches of play from deep.
The South American sides are not to be underestimated. They remain unbeaten in this Club World Cup and Chelsea only needed to look at Botafogo beating Paris Saint-Germain to appreciate that this was going to be nothing like their opening win over Los Angeles FC.
Flamengo’s fans were out in force in the Philadelphia sun. The intensity rattled Chelsea. Their passing was erratic and Maresca’s tweaks backfired.
He brought Malo Gusto in at right-back, started with James next to Moisés Caicedo in central midfield and pushed Enzo Fernández forward.
It left Chelsea without a clear way of going from back to front. They took an early lead when Wesley and Danilo failed to deal with a speculative punt from James, enabling Pedro Neto to race through and score, but there was no flow to their football.
Delap, who was handed his full debut, faded after drawing a save from Agustín Rossi.
Flamengo have the highest possession in the Brazilian top flight. They probed for long spells. Gerson was a dynamic presence and almost equalised before half-time, only for Levi Colwill to clear his volley off the line.
Filipe Luís, the former Chelsea left-back, was proud with how his side responded to going behind. They pushed again at the start of the second half.
Caicedo, Fernández and James were out-thought. Gerson and Plata went close. The warning signs were obvious. It was all square when Gerson chipped a diagonal ball over Gusto, Plata headed across goal and Bruno Henrique ghosted in to score.
Chelsea collapsed. They were 2-1 down when Danilo, the former Manchester City defender, volleyed in after a corner was flicked on by Bruno Henrique.
It was game over when Jackson went off. Wallace Yan, another Flamengo substitute, made it 3-1 with seven minutes left.
Maresca must respond. Chelsea have work to do when they face the Tunisian side Espérance in their final group game. Finishing second leaves them at risk of facing Bayern Munich in the last 16.
Their stay in the U.S could be over sooner than expected.
