June 21, (THEWILL) – Flamengo stunned Chelsea with a 3–1 victory in Friday’s Club World Cup group stage encounter, capitalising on a second-half collapse to tighten their grip on Group D.
The match, played at the Al Bayt Stadium, saw the Brazilian side overturn an early deficit and punish a series of errors from the English Premier League outfit. Chelsea had opened the scoring through Pedro Neto, but their control faded rapidly after the interval.
The opening flashpoint arrived in the 11th minute when Moisés Caicedo’s sliding challenge on Jorginho sparked protests from the Flamengo players.
Caicedo, already on a yellow, faces suspension with another booking, alongside teammates Marc Cucurella and Reece James. Chelsea’s early aggression brought some reward when Neto, fresh from winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal, fired home to give the Blues a 1–0 lead.
Flamengo responded with sustained pressure, nearly drawing level when Gerson surged into Chelsea’s box but dragged his effort wide.
Moments later, Robert Sánchez was forced into a strong save to deny Gonzalo Plata. From the resulting corner, Plata turned provider with a pinpoint delivery that Bruno Henrique nodded past Sánchez to restore parity for the South American side.
Just three minutes after the equaliser, Flamengo pulled ahead through Danilo, the 33-year-old midfielder finishing calmly to send the travelling support into raptures.
Chelsea’s situation worsened further when Nicolas Jackson was sent off for a reckless tackle on Ayrton Lucas.
The red card left Enzo Maresca’s side exposed, and Flamengo seized their moment, with Wallace Yan firing in a third in the 83rd minute to seal the result.
With two wins from two, Flamengo are emerging as strong contenders to top Group D.
Chelsea now face a must-win clash against ES Tuins if they are to salvage their hopes of advancing.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
