Delap, extreme heat & money - Chelsea's Club World Cup so far

Chelsea person navigated utmost heat, upwind warnings and fixed debuts to 4 players successful reaching the knockout stages of the Club World Cup.

The Blues person earned £28m frankincense acold and volition soon screen the £30m interest paid to motion striker Liam Delap from Ipswich earlier this month.

The caller striker has impressed with a extremity and an assistance successful his archetypal 3 matches for the nine connected US ungraded portion midfielders Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo person made their debuts successful the contention - on with defender Mamadou Sarr.

But Chelsea besides suffered a disappointing 3-1 decision erstwhile manager Enzo Maresca experimented tactically against Brazilian giants Flamengo.

However, they comfortably bushed weaker Group D duo Los Angeles FC and ES Tunis.

After finishing second, Chelsea volition look Portuguese broadside Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 successful their last radical game.

"Benfica is simply a apical club, with a apical manager and apical players. It volition beryllium pugnacious but we are successful the 16 from 32 and we anticipation to beryllium successful the past eight," said Maresca.

Delap, who signed from Ipswich earlier the tournament, made his debut successful the opening crippled against LAFC and was impressive. His chipped transverse was his archetypal assistance for the nine arsenic helium acceptable up Enzo Fernandez's 2nd extremity successful a 2-0 win.

The striker struggled to marque an interaction connected his archetypal commencement successful the pursuing crippled against Flamengo, but scored his archetypal extremity for Chelsea successful the last Group D match.

Delap's deft interaction and rotation gave him abstraction to chopped wrong and spot his changeable past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

"It's a large feeling, we needed to triumph and to get a extremity is simply a peculiar feeling," said Delap.

Maresca added: "We expected the process to beryllium speedy with Liam due to the fact that we cognize him and helium knows america with the mode we play.

"Against Flamengo helium had 3 wide chances to people goals. That is already a bully feeling due to the fact that it means helium is successful the close position."

Winger Pedro Neto excelled successful the archetypal 2 matches, scoring successful some aft rapid, almighty dribbles.

Fernandez besides has a extremity and 2 assists successful the tournament, having scored 8 goals and provided 14 assists past season.

Jackson's precocious studs-up situation connected Flamengo defender Lucas Ayrton astatine the extremity of a disastrous six-minute collapse, wherever goals from Bruno Henrique and Danilo cancelled retired Neto's aboriginal strike, enactment him successful the firing enactment aft a mediocre 3-1 decision successful the Blues' 2nd match.

The 24-year-old, connected his birthday, had lone been connected the tract 4 minutes aft replacing Delap, with his suspension opening the doorway for his rival to besides commencement the last radical game.

Jackson was subsequently banned for a further lucifer by satellite governing assemblage Fifa, truthful volition miss the last-16 necktie against Benfica.

Chelsea were well-beaten by Flamengo with 1 root describing it arsenic a "wake up call" astir the level of South American opposition, who get astatine the Club World Cup mid-season.

Chelsea volition look Brazilian absorption again if they scope the quarter-finals, with Palmeiras and Botafogo playing each different successful a last-16 tie.

Chelsea person been unfortunate to brushwood unseasonably lukewarm vigor aft booking a basal astatine Philadelphia Union's Subaru Park stadium and grooming ground.

Manager Maresca has described it arsenic "impossible" to bid successful temperatures reaching 40C, which fertile arsenic the highest felt successful the country successful 13 years.

There person been wellness warnings advising against strenuous carnal outdoor activity, truthful Chelsea person conducted "very short" grooming sessions with elephantine fans spraying acold h2o and drinks breaks aft each drill.

They are adjacent based successful Miami - 750 miles to the southbound of wherever they play their last-16 lucifer successful Charlotte, North Carolina - and are expected to determination to New York should they scope the second stages.

Chelsea qualified for the Champions League - which is worthy betwixt £80m and £100m and should pull a caller lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorship woody - earlier the Club World Cup.

But they are connected for a treble windfall, fixed the Club World Cup is the astir lucrative contention successful nine shot connected a per lucifer basis, according to Fifa.

The Blues made conscionable nether $38m (£28m) for qualifying for the tournament.

They earned different $2m for each triumph successful the radical stage, beating LAFC and ES Tunis. They volition besides gain $7.5m erstwhile facing Benfica successful the circular of 16, which takes their full to $49.5m.

There is simply a further $13.1m connected connection for reaching the quarter-final, $21m for the semi-final and $30m for reaching the final. A further $40m is reserved for the winner.

That each adds up to an other $104m for the victorious team.

It's been a bully tourney truthful acold for the slope balance, but what astir the fans? A full of 32,967 attended Chelsea's last radical crippled astatine the 67,000-capacity Lincoln Financial Field.

Bharat from the Philly Blues was 1 of them, and told BBC Sport: "I haven't had immoderate complaints astir the organisation.

"I tin recognize immoderate of the complaints astir subordinate welfare. It feels similar they are utilizing this contention arsenic a adust tally for adjacent year's World Cup and it volition beryllium absorbing to spot if they marque immoderate changes."

UK-based Chelsea instrumentality Cathy hasn't missed an distant crippled for 47 years and was 1 of the fewer to question to the United States to proceed her run.

"The pricing is excessively precocious considering the prime of immoderate teams successful the competition," she said.

"It has near lone fans of the teams progressive successful the contention funny successful watching it and that is an ain extremity by Fifa."

The nine has revealed the club's fans person entree to 500 little tier tickets priced astatine $153 and 466 worth tier tickets priced astatine $35 for the crippled against Benfica.

Cathy besides said: "Chelsea fans are besides disquieted astir the interaction it volition person connected the players with them having nary remainder and perchance getting injured."