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Goals to Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto helped Chelsea overpower LAFC 2-0 in their opening group game of the FIFA Club World Cup at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Neto netted the opener before half time, while Fernandez put the contest to bed late in the piece just as the MLS side threatened to salvage a point.
LAFC, who qualified for the tournament via a one-off play-in game last month, asked plenty of questions of the Chelsea defence late in the game with shot stopper Robert Sanchez made to do more work that he would have other wise wished in the second half.
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The London club held firm in defence however, and were simply too dangerous in attack with Fernandez adding a second goal for the English Premier League outfit to take the sting out of the match in the 80th minute.
The Argentine attacking midfielder, who scored Chelsea’s opener in their UEFA Conference League final 4-1 victory over Real Betis, was picked out in the penalty area by Blues new signing Liam Delap.
The former Ipswich Town forward whipped in an excellent ball from the right side, Fernandez took a superb first touch and finished from close range past former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
In the 33rd minute, Pedro Neto opened the scoring with a beautiful cut back after being put through into the box on the right hand side by Nicholas Jackson.
The Portuguese winger stopped on a dime and sent LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead sliding past him, almost out of play.
Neto then took another touch back towards goal and drilled into it the back of net at the near post, past Lloris with his left foot.
With the final touch of the game, Neto almost added a third with a powerful strike from outside the box hitting the crossbar.
The damage could have been a lot worse for the MLS side if not for Lloris.
Early in the first half he pulled off an important save against Jackson, and the 38-year-old Frenchman gave a reminder of his quality as he denied their English Premier League opponents on several other occasions.
Chelsea had 17 shots for the match, six of which were on target and five came from dangerous positions inside the penalty area.
Cole Palmer was threatening but was unable to find the back of the net as he wasted his best chance to get on the score sheet by ballooning a shot over the top of the crossbar in the second half.
Another 38-year-old French World Cup winner came onto the pitch for LAFC immediately after half time in Olivier Giroud.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal striker’s entrance caused a delay to the restart however, as he left his shirt in the dressing room and it had to be fetched by a teammate.
There were no such hiccups as Chelsea unveiled new signing Liam Delap in the 64th minute.
The former Ipswich Town forward joined the Blues earlier this month, and almost made a near-impact with a promising run to the near-post down the right hand side of the box but his pass was snuffed out by the desperate LAFC defenders.
Later he of course registered an assist for Fernandez’s goal with an excellent piece of playmaking.
