LAFC only earned their place in the tournament at the end of May after winning the battle to claim Leon's vacated spot. But with less than three weeks' preparation, they admirably kept pace with and frustrated Chelsea, undeniably heavy favourites at kick-off.
With plenty of empty seats in the stands in Atlanta, Pedro Neto opened the scoring after 34 minutes, latching onto Nicolas Jackson's measured pass and firing low past Hugo Lloris at the near post. Jackson almost doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half, but then also came Robert Sanchez's first meaningful moment when he denied LAFC dangerman Denis Bouanga.
The Major League Soccer side were much improved as the game progressed, but Chelsea's superior quality ultimately shone through when Enzo Fernandez made certain of the 2-0 win late on. Liam Delap, an impressive figure after coming on, made the incisive run and clipped a floated cross into the box that the half-time substitute met on the volley.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Mercedes-Benz Stadium...
