Report:Delap shows true Chelsea colours seconds into debut

The main talking points to come out of Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as the Blues kick off their FIFA Club World Cup journeyIt was nothing to write home about. Absolutely not. But Chelsea got through their FIFA Club World Cup opener in Atlanta unscathed. And, crucially, with three points.Goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez in each half got the Blues off to the perfect start in front of just over 22,000 supporters at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The impressive modern stadium holds 71,000 seats but the majority of those were empty as FIFA’s struggles to sell tickets for this competition was laid bare on Monday.The lack of atmosphere made it feel at times like a pre-season friendly and that perhaps filtered down to the players on the pitch. There was a slow tempo but for Chelsea, it was a game they controlled, really, from the beginning, albeit they did ride their luck a tad at 1-0.As soon as Fernandez fired in the Blues’ second goal, though, it felt like a training session for Enzo Maresca’s side. Chelsea will now make their way back to Philadelphia, where they trained for a few days before jetting to Atlanta on Sunday evening, for their second group match against Brazilian side Flamengo.

There were naturally a few talking points to come out of the win against Los Angeles, not least the impact of a certain Liam Delap. Below, Bobby Vincent writes in detail about some of the goings on in Atlanta.