Chelsea Eliminates Esperance from Club World Cup
Chelsea knocked Tunisian side Esperance out of the FIFA Club World Cup with a 3-0 victory in the third round of Group D matches.
With this result, Chelsea qualified from second place in the group behind Brazilian club Flamengo, who drew 1-1 with LAFC of the United States after previously defeating the Blues in the previous round.
Chelsea will now face Portuguese side Benfica, who topped Group C after beating Bayern Munich 1-0, while Flamengo will play against Bayern.
On the other hand, Esperance joined other eliminated Arab representatives—Wydad Casablanca and Al Ain from Group G, and Al Ahly from Group A—leaving only Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal with a chance to advance to the Round of 16 through Group H.
Esperance struggled to create any real threat throughout the match, despite Chelsea resting several key players. The Tunisian team also missed Algerian star Youcef Belaïli due to suspension.
Tosin Adarabioyo opened the scoring for Chelsea in first-half stoppage time (45+3), rising to head home a free kick delivered by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández. Just two minutes later, new signing Liam Delap added a second after receiving a pass from Fernández, skillfully bypassing Yassine Meriah and sliding the ball past goalkeeper Moez Ben Saïd (45+5).
In the second half, substitute Tyrique George sealed the win with a powerful shot that Ben Saïd attempted to stop but couldn’t keep out (90+).
In the other Group D match, Flamengo fell behind to a late goal by LAFC’s Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga (84), but substitute Wallace Yan rescued the Brazilian side with an equalizer just two minutes later (86).
Bayern Cede Top Spot to Benfica
Meanwhile, Group C saw Benfica edge Bayern Munich 1-0 through a 13th-minute goal from Norwegian winger Andreas Schjelderup, lifting the Portuguese side to 7 points, one ahead of Bayern, and leaving Boca Juniors on 2 points after a 1-1 draw with Auckland City of New Zealand.
This marked Benfica’s first-ever official win over Bayern in 14 encounters across European competitions, with Bayern previously winning 10 and drawing 3.
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany rested key players including top scorer Harry Kane, midfield star Joshua Kimmich, and French winger Michael Olise, giving 19-year-old Tom Bischof his first official start since joining from Hoffenheim at the end of last season.
The Portuguese side took the lead early when Italian Gianluca Prestianni surged down the right flank and delivered a cross to the far post, where Schjelderup calmly finished (13).
Auckland City pulled off a surprise with a rare draw—only the third in their 12 tournament appearances—against Boca Juniors. The Argentine side went ahead through an own goal by goalkeeper Nathan Gough (26), but Christian Gray equalized in the 52nd minute.
The match was interrupted for nearly 50 minutes due to weather conditions—the fifth weather-related stoppage in this expanded edition of the tournament.
