Chelsea Win Club World Cup Opener Before Sparse Crowd

Chelsea began their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, thanks to goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez, with Liam Delap assisting on his debut. Despite the victory, only just over 22,000 fans attended in the 71,000-capacity venue, with the top tier closed and coach Enzo Maresca describing the atmosphere as 'strange' and subdued. The low turnout was blamed on the 3:00 pm Monday kickoff and slow ticket sales, contrasting sharply with previous near sell-outs for Chelsea at the same stadium. LAFC fans, who traveled over 2,000 miles, provided much of the atmosphere. The sparse crowd also stood in stark contrast to strong attendances at other Club World Cup matches, such as those featuring Inter Miami and PSG. The turnout has raised questions about the appeal and scheduling of FIFA’s expanded tournament in the US.