Chelsea cruise past Esperance, to face Benfica in Club World Cup knockout

Philadelphia: Goals from Tosin Adarabioyo, Liam Delap and Tyrique George saw Chelsea’s second-string side secure a place in the round of 16 at the Club World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Esperance de Tunis in their final Group D match on Tuesday.

Group winners Flamengo were held 1-1 by Los Angeles FC to finish on seven points, one ahead of Chelsea. Esperance finished third with three points while LA FC were bottom with one point.

Chelsea next face Group C winners Benfica on Saturday at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, while Flamengo take on Bayern Munich, Group C runners-up, in Miami on Sunday.

Despite the stakes, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca opted to rotate his squad once more, resting key players such as Cole Palmer and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

He was missing striker Nicolas Jackson, who will also be unavailable against Benfica as he serves a two-match suspension following his red card in Friday’s 3-1 loss to Flamengo.

Delap, a 30 million pounds ($40.66 million) signing from Ipswich Town, came close to opening the scoring in the 20th minute but his header was cleared off the line.

Chelsea dominated possession in a lacklustre first half but struggled for creativity in the final third, with Delap squandering another golden chance in the 30th minute when he missed the target from close range.

The breakthrough finally came in first-half stoppage time when Adarabioyo rose highest to head the ball into the bottom left corner.

Moments later Delap doubled Chelsea’s lead, capitalising on a loose ball inside the box, cutting inside a defender and finishing neatly into the far corner.

The second half saw Chelsea largely control proceedings without pressing for a third goal and their resolute defensive display ensured there was no way back for Esperance.

The London side made it 3-0 when substitute George fired home from the edge of the box deep in added time.