Chelsea collapsed to a 3-1 loss against Flamengo at the Club World Cup as Nicolas Jackson was shown a straight red card only four minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Enzo Maresca’s side appeared to be in control of the game after Pedro Neto’s breakaway opening goal in the first half but substitute Bruno Henrique’s second-half leveller sparked an implosion.
Chelsea fell behind moments after the equaliser when former Manchester City defender Danilo punished more poor defending, and Jackson’s red card came just three minutes later as he recklessly planted his studs on Ayrton Lucas’ shin.
Bruno Henrique scoring Flamengo’s equalising goal
On the day he turned 24, and as he contends with competition for his place from new signing Liam Delap, who impressed on his first start, Jackson’s red card came only six weeks after he was sent off in against Newcastle in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Wallace Yan, another Flamengo substitute, added the Brazilian side’s third goal to spark more wild celebrations from the vociferous Flamengo fans at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
After their sparsely-attended win over LAFC in their opening game, Chelsea’s second game drew a much bigger crowd, with an official attendance of 54,019 at the 67,594-capacity stadium.
Neto took the opener well following a rapid counter, making it two goals in two games for him at the Club World Cup. Earlier in the first half, Delap had forced a fine save from Flamengo goalkeeper Agustin Rossi.
Chelsea’s Pedro Neto scored the opener against Flamengo
But Chelsea were let down by their defending in the second period as Henrique was left free to turn home Gonzalo Plata’s header across goal before Danilo added the quick-fire second following more slack marking at a corner.
Jackson’s sending-off effectively killed Chelsea’s hopes of a recovery, with Yan’s goal sealing another big win for a Brazilian side at the tournament after Botafogo’s 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
The result puts Flamengo three points clear of second-placed Chelsea in Group D, meaning the Blues still have work to do to qualify for the knockout stages.
Who do Chelsea play next?
Chelsea play their final group D fixture on Wednesday against Tunisian side ES Tunis, kick-off 2am.
