Preview: Chelsea face LAFC in opening Club World Cup game
Premier League giants Chelsea start their campaign in the fancy new-look FIFA Club World Cup against MLS side LAFC on Monday, hoping to reaffirm their qualification for next season’s Champions League with a good run against some of the globe’s best sides.
By Alex Roberts
Enzo Maresca’s side won’t want to underestimate the Americans, however. Well-funded and well-rounded, LAFC are one of the better sides in the MLS’ Western Conference and fully deserving to be one of the league’s three representatives.
How did they get here?
Pundit Jamie Carragher may not like it, but Chelsea will be in the Club World Cup by virtue of their Champions League win back in 2021, which is just inside the qualifying period. They also won the old version of this tournament with a 2-1 extra-time win over Brazilian side Palmeiras later that year.
LAFC’s induction was a little less orthodox. Mexican side Club León were expelled due to FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Both León and Pachuca, another Mexican club, are owned by the same entity, Grupo Pachuca.
A one-off playoff against Club América ensued, and after their 2-1 comeback win, LAFC will now be putting their domestic season on hold in order to compete with some of the best clubs from Europe and the rest of the world.
A reunion with the most handsome man in football
Chelsea fans will get the opportunity to see cult hero Olivier Giroud once again when these two sides face off. He’s not the player that scored in the 4-1 Europa League final win over Arsenal, but he will be welcomed with open arms.
Now 38, Giroud has struggled since moving to LA from AC Milan as a designated player back in the summer of 2024, scoring just five goals in his 34 games across all competitions for the club.
Funnily enough, two of those goals have come in his last three games and with his penchant for the spectacular and an ability to score a goal from nothing, Chelsea will have to keep an eye of their former forward. He’s not just a pretty face.
A few potential Chelsea debuts
Maresca’s side missed out on deals for Jamie Gittens and Mike Maignan after failing to agree terms with Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, respectively. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some debuts, however.
New arrivals Liam Delap, Dário Essugo and Mamadou Sarr will all be the squad, along with loan star Andrey Santos. All four of these lads will be hoping to make an impression on Maresca ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Delap is arguably the most exciting of those players. Taking the cursed number nine shirt, the combative forward has drawn comparisons to Diego Costa. If the former Man City academy graduate as a similar kind of impact, the fans will love him.
Denis Bouanga is a problem
Playing anywhere along the forward line but with a penchant for cutting in from the left and shooting, Bouanga is one of the best and most consistent goal scorers in MLS history, he’s going to be a real problem for Chelsea. Eighty-one goals in his 128 games across all competitions for the club speaks for itself.
He was the main man in the win over Club América, dragging LAFC to the Club World Cup with an assist for Igor Jesus’ 89th minute equaliser and then bagging in the 115th minute to round off the scoring.
Over his last ten games across all competitions, Bouanga has made 14 goal contributions, there are few players on the planet as in-form as him at this moment in time. He’s never come up against Reece James, though.
Prediction
Chelsea have just ended their season, while LAFC are in the middle of theirs. Don’t expect the Premier League side to be in top gear for this one, all of the European clubs will likely be taking it easy until the back end of the tournament. We’re going to go with a 2-1 win for Chelsea.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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