Chelsea tonight beat Los Angeles Football Club (LA FC) of Los Angeles, America, by two goals to nil to win their first game in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup.
The victory entitles Chelsea, one of the representatives of Britain at the global soccer fiesta, to a bonus of $2 million, and three points which elevates them to the top of the standings in the group.
The tie played in Atlanta, saw Chelsea dominate the first half in which it netted once, before reenacting the same score line in the second stanza.
Chelsea shot into the lead in the 33rd minute of play via a Neto left footer. This was after several efforts that were thwarted by the resilience of LA back four.
Without any more successful strikes, the first half ended on a note of a goal advantage to Chelsea.
On resumption, LA FC became more assertive and exchanged more even. Twice the LA FC came close to scoring, especially in the 77th minute when they had their best opportunity.
Chelsea seized their chance again in the 79th minute when Enzo Fernandez netted the second and last goal of the encounter.
Both teams are warehoused in Group D of the championship alongside one of Africa’s four entrants, Esperance of Tunisia, and Brazilian side, Flamengo.
The 2025 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup has a total cash prize of $1billion (about N1.65 trillion). A draw entitles a team to $1m (about N1.65billion), while a win earns it $2m (about N3.3billion).
A total of 32 teams, including four from Africa are vying for honours at the tournament.
African entrants are Al-Ahly of Egypt, Casablanca of Morocco, Esperance of Tunisia and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa.
