Chelsea beats LAFC at Club World Cup

ATLANTA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chelsea kicked off its Club World Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win against LAFA in a half-empty Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Chelsea was the better side, although LAFC looked to move the ball around against a rival that started the match with three of its four new signings on the bench.

Chelsea had to withstand a bright start from LAFC in a ground where there were far too many empty seats, but after around 15 minutes the Conference League champions began to get control of midfield.

The more Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson got involved, the more danger Chelsea created, with Palmer, now wearing the number 10 shirt, curled an effort just after 20 minutes.

Jackson was involved in the opening goal with a smart pass to Pedro Neto, who left his marker on the floor before beating Hugo Lloris with a cool finish in the 34th minute.

LAFC had to replace Nathan Ordaz with David Martinez two minutes later after the El Salvador international suffered a knock on the head.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca had said he didn't want his side to treat the game like a friendly, but at times the pace seemed labored from both sides and Maresca was obviously thinking about keeping his players fresh when he replaced Reece James and Romeo Lavia with Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez at the break, while Olivier Giroud came on for LAFC against one of his former clubs.

Jackson had a chance to double Chelsea's lead when his goal-bound header was deflected just wide, while at the other end Denis Bouanga produced a moment of power and skill to draw a good save from Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez in a rare attack.

Chelsea brought Liam Delap, one of the club's summer signings on for Jackson in the 64th minute and after Ryan Hollingshead fired over for LAFC, Delap capped his debut with an assist as he whipped in a cross for Fernandez to score from close range to secure the win. ■