PHILADELPHIA: Liam Delap scored his first Chelsea goal in a 3-0 win over Tunisian champions Esperance on Tuesday which took the Blues into the last 16 of the Club World Cup.
A game played in sweaty conditions at the end of a blisteringly hot day in Philadelphia was decided by two goals in first-half stoppage time by Tosin Adarabioyo and then Delap.
Tyrique George added the third in injury time at the end of the game in front of 32,937 fans at Lincoln Financial Field as Enzo Maresca’s side bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Flamengo.
Chelsea clinched second place in Group D behind the Brazilian giants while Esperance were eliminated.
Asked about Delap’s first goal on his third appearance, Maresca said: “Against Flamengo he had three clear chances to score goals so that means he is there, in the right position, he is doing well.
“We know Liam is going to score goals with us, we don’t have any doubts about that.”
The Premier League outfit will now travel to Charlotte to face Benfica on Saturday, with the Portuguese club having earlier beaten Bayern Munich to top Group C.
That will be a first meeting of the clubs since Chelsea beat Benfica in the 2013 Europa League final, and the winner of that tie will play either Palmeiras or Botafogo of Brazil in the last eight.
“Benfica is a top club with a top manager and top players and it is going to be tough, but from 32 we are now in the last 16 and the next target is to try to be in the last eight,” said Maresca.
Chelsea only needed a draw to advance as Maresca made eight changes to his starting line-up following the Flamengo defeat.
Delap, Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto kept their places while Josh Acheampong was among the lesser-seen faces to get a chance.
Maresca explained the heatwave in and around Philadelphia, where Chelsea have been based, made squad rotation unavoidable.
“I said yesterday that it was impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days in these conditions is not possible.
“The ones who played were good ...it is important now to recover energy and try to win the next game.
“Thirty-two clubs were in this tournament, now 16, they are clubs who in the last five or six years have been in Champions League finals, like Atletico Madrid who are already (back) in Spain, so we need to be proud and be happy.”
Acheampong, making his 10th start this season, came close with a shot saved low down by Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said on 36 minutes.
Fernandez shot wide from the edge of the box as Chelsea controlled the first half without overly troubling the Tunisian defense until the third minute of stoppage time.
Fernandez floated a free-kick into the area and Adarabioyo scored with a header into the bottom corner.
Esperance needed to win and their hopes were as good as over as Chelsea scored again two minutes later.
Fernandez was again the provider as he fed Delap, and the new signing from Ipswich Town controlled with his back to goal, turned and slotted a low shot into the net to get off the mark in his new colors.
With temperatures still hovering close to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) late into the evening, conditions remained far from easy.
Both teams made changes, with Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos getting their first Chelsea minutes since joining from Strasbourg.
Chelsea thought they had a penalty 15 minutes from time when the referee pointed to the spot as a Santos shot brushed the hand of Yassine Meriah — but the award was overturned following a VAR check.
The third goal arrived deep in injury time at the end of the game as George, another substitute, found the net with a shot that the goalkeeper should have stopped.
“We came up against a team from the very highest level and were dominated, but we didn’t disgrace ourselves,” said Esperance coach Maher Kanzari.
