Enzo Maresca describes the atmosphere in Chelsea’s victory as “strange”
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca described the atmosphere in his team’s 2-0 victory over LAFC in the Club World Cup as “strange” due to the low attendance at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The match, played on Monday afternoon in the United States, in a stadium with a capacity for 71,000 spectators, attracted only 22,137 fans. There were questions about ticket sales before the Club World Cup, and attendance at the matches has varied depending on the venue. On Monday afternoon, several sections had fewer than 100 fans in the lower stands.Ticket prices had been reduced, with general access available on the same day for $51, but there was little late demand in a city whose team, Atlanta United, has, by far, the best average attendance per game (almost 47,000 in 2024) of any MLS team.
Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
“I think the atmosphere was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full,” said Maresca.
Enzo Maresca
Atlanta is more than 2,000 miles (3,220 km) from Los Angeles, where the Major League Soccer club, LAFC, is based. LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said he wasn’t sure if it was due to the matchup or that people are more interested in the tournament in Los Angeles, but he didn’t focus too much on that. He said the event is incredible, but with the crowds, “it’s different in every match you see and I don’t think we should talk about this right now. I think we should wait until the end of the tournament to make a more complete summary of what was happening and an opinion about it in general, instead of now and a single match”. Maresca was asked about the impact he expects from striker Liam Delap, who joined the club for around £30 million ($40.73 million) from Ipswich Town on a six-year contract. Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu are already options for the number nine shirt at Chelsea, but the 22-year-old player didn’t take long to show his potential, assisting Enzo Fernández for his second goal on Monday.“We are professionals and we have to adapt to the situation, to the environment. You have to adapt when you play with a full stadium. You have to adapt when the stadium is not full, but it doesn’t matter”.
Enzo Maresca
Chelsea are tied with Flamengo at the top of the group after the Brazilians beat Esperance de Tunis 2-0.“I’m curious to see how Nico reacts [to Delap]”, said Maresca. “He competed with Guiu, who is very young, during the season. Both are good number nines”.
Enzo Maresca
