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Chelsea GFXGOAL
Alex Labidou

Chelsea player ratings vs Espérance Sportive de Tunis: Liam Delap nets first Chelsea goal as Enzo Fernandez masterclass pushes the Blues into the Club World Cup knockout stages

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Chelsea
L. Delap
E. Fernandez
FIFA Club World Cup
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Esperance vs Chelsea

The former Ipswich Town striker continued his strong form in the United States as he showed why the Blues paid £30 million to get him

Chelsea's journey in the Club World Cup will continue after a brilliant showing from midfield maestro Enzo Fernandez and promising signs from recent arrival Liam Delap in a 3-0 win over Tunisian giants Esperance Sportive de Tunis in their group-stage finale.

After a shock defeat to Flamengo on Matchday 2, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made several changes to the line up, keeping only Malo Gusto and Fernandez in the starting XI. The Blues started slowly in a heat-impacted, sluggish opening 45 minutes. But the moves paid off in first-half stoppage time.

Two minutes into added time, Fernandez sparked Chelsea with a sublime lobbed free kick from outside the box that found a soaring Tosin Adarabioyo, heading the ball past Espérance keeper Bechir Ben Said - who stood almost motionless as the ball hit the net.

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Fernandez produced another moment of magic just minutes later. The Argentine lobbed a killer pass into the path of Delap, who took a delicate first touch, showed some nifty footwork, and rolled the ball past Ben Said again. The Espérance goalkeeper, once more, appeared rooted to the spot.

Chelsea will be thrilled by Delap’s goal - his first for the club - as he showed composure that’s been missing from the team in recent years. The 22-year-old now has a goal and an assist in his first three appearances for the Blues.

In the second half, Chelsea focused on maintaining possession and keeping Espérance out of dangerous areas. But there was some controversy in the 76th minute. The Blues were initially awarded a penalty, and Christopher Nkunku stepped up to take it - only for the call to be overturned after VAR determined a defender’s arm was in a non-threatening position. Nkunku was left visibly frustrated by the reversal. Still, Tyrique George added the finishing touch with a stunning long-range blast that sealed the 3-0 result.

Chelsea now look ahead to a knockout stage matchup this weekend against Benfica in Charlotte, N.C.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia...

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