Chelsea’s hopes of progressing in the Club World Cup suffered a blow as they slumped to a 3–1 defeat to Flamengo, with substitute Nicolas Jackson sent off during a disastrous second half in Philadelphia.

Pedro Neto had given the Blues a first-half lead with a composed finish following a lucky ricochet, but Enzo Maresca’s men unravelled after the break in front of 54,019 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

Bruno Henrique levelled just after the hour mark before setting up Danilo for Flamengo’s second, and Chelsea’s night went from bad to worse when Jackson was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Ayrton Lucas.

Wallace Yan added a third late on to seal the win for Flamengo, leaving Chelsea with one win and one loss from their opening two games in Group D.

It was a frustrating debut for striker Liam Delap and a memorable victory for Flamengo boss Filipe Luis, once of Chelsea, whose side took full advantage of the English club’s collapse.

Faridah Abdulkadiri

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