Lack of fans at Club World Cup 'strange' - Maresca

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca described the ambiance successful Chelsea's 2-0 Club World Cup triumph implicit LAFC arsenic "strange" due to the fact that of the deficiency of fans astatine Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The game, played connected Monday day successful the United States, successful a 71,000 capableness stadium, attracted conscionable 22,137 fans.

There were questions astir summons income starring into the Club World Cup and attendance astatine matches truthful acold person varied based connected the venue. On Monday afternoon, determination were aggregate sections with little than 100 fans successful them successful the little bowl.

Ticket prices had been slashed, with wide admittance disposable connected the time for $51, but determination was small precocious take-up successful a metropolis whose team, Atlanta United, person by immoderate region the champion mean attendance per crippled (nearly 47,000 successful 2024) of immoderate MLS side.

"I deliberation the situation was a spot strange, the stadium was astir empty, not full," Maresca said.

"We are nonrecreational and we person to accommodate to the situation, to the environment. You person to accommodate erstwhile you play with a afloat stadium. You person to accommodate erstwhile the stadium is not afloat but it doesn't matter."

Atlanta is implicit 2,000 miles (3,220 km) distant from Los Angeles, wherever Major League Soccer nine LAFC are based.

LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo said helium wasn't definite if it was the pairing oregon that radical are much into the tourney successful Los Angeles but wasn't excessively focused connected that.

He said the lawsuit is unthinkable but with crowds, "it's benignant of antithetic each crippled you look astatine and I don't deliberation we should beryllium talking astir this close now. I deliberation we should hold until the extremity of the tourney to marque a much implicit summary of what was going connected and sentiment of it arsenic a full arsenic opposed to close present and 1 game."

Maresca was asked astir what interaction helium expects from guardant Liam Delap, who joined the nine for astir £30 million ($40.73m) from Ipswich Town connected a six-year deal.

Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu are already options for the fig 9 garment astatine Chelsea but the 22-year-old wasted nary clip successful showcasing his potential, mounting up Enzo Fernández for their 2nd extremity connected Monday.

"I americium funny to spot however Nico reacts [to Delap]," Maresca said. "He competed with Guiu, who is precise young, during the season. They are some bully fig nines."

Chelsea are level with Flamengo astatine the apical of the radical aft the Brazilians bushed Esperance de Tunis 2-0.

Information from ESPN's James Olley and Michael Rothstein was utilized successful this report.