Liam Delap an instant hit as Chelsea learn Club World Cup knockout opponents

Liam Delap opened his Chelsea account and Enzo Maresca insisted he knew the £30m striker would be an instant hit. Chelsea striker Delap hit his first goal for the club as the Blues booked their place in the last 16 against Benfica in Charlotte on Saturday.

Chelsea boss Maresca said: “We expected the process to be quite quick with Liam and the reason why he is because we know him and he knows us in the way we want to play.

“Liam as I said, we know each other very good so the process is quite quick and then it is also because he is a very good player. Against Flamengo, he had 3 clear chances to score goals so that is already a good feeling because that means already he is there.

“He is in the right position, he is doing well. Unfortunately he didn’t score against Flamengo and this time he scored. We know that Liam is going to score goals with us. We don’t have any doubt about that.”

Chelsea braved the scorching temperatures to overcome ES Tunis to book a last 16 tie and Maresca admitted he will have to carry on rotating his squad so they can recover their energy. Maresca said: “I told you all yesterday in the press conference it is impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days with these conditions is not possible for them to play every game.

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“It is important for us because 32 clubs are in this tournament, now 16," Maresca continued. "There are clubs in the last five or six years, they play Champions League final like Atletico Madrid and they are already in Spain. So we need to be proud, we need to be happy.

“And now, I just said, from the 16, the target is to go to the first eight. We know Benfica is a top club with top manager and top players and it is going to be tough. From 32, we are in the 16. Now, the next target for us is to try to be in the first eight.”

Chelsea were sluggish and struggled to find a breakthrough against the Tunisian underdogs but Delap was lively in a team which had eight changes in the starting line-up. Maresca’s team went ahead in the third minute of first half injury time when Enzo Fernandez’s floated free kick was headed in by Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo.

Incredibly, that was Fernandez’s 15th assist of the season and he got another two minutes later. Fernandez’s pass found Delap who produced a lovely piece of skill to turn in the box, earn himself the space and time to pick his spot with a low shot into the far corner.

Chelsea turned the second half into a procession with the temperature still boiling hot in Philadelphia as they were barely put under any pressure. Brazil midfielder Andrey Santos, 21, did at least get a run-out as a substitute for his long-awaited debut two-and-a-half years after joining Chelsea from Vasco da Gama. He has been loaned out three times but has now finally got a chance for Chelsea.

Christopher Nkunku, who played from the start despite links of a move to Manchester United, thought he would get the chance to score from the penalty spot but the award for a very soft handball was rightly overruled after a VAR check. Mamadou Sarr, another new Chelsea summer signing, also made his debut as a substitute in the dying minutes. Chelsea teenager Tyrique George then wrapped it up with a late third after his shot was spilled by the ES Tunis keeper.

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