Chelsea's Club World Cup campaign took a bend on Friday evening when the men of Enzo Maresca fell in a 3-1 defeat by Flamengo.
The Brazilians are not pushovers, but the Premier League side should have done the job to qualify for the knockouts, and looked good on the way to do that when Pedro Neto hit his second goal of the competition early.
But it went to the south, with Bruno Henrique, Danilo and Wallace Yan –Net to ensure that it was flamengo that qualified instead.
The match was perhaps overshadowed by the second red card by Nicolas Jackson in so many months, where the striker previously saw Red against Newcastle and now got his marsorders for a high challenge.
It leaves the blues campaign on Wednesday on their last group game with Es Tunis – or it will be an early flight home from the United States.
Kieran Gill from Mail Sport was on the financial field in Lincoln to write down five things that we learned from the game.
Maresca shakes things
Enzo Maresca made it a point to ensure that we all knew that he had experimented with his tactical setup in this 3-1 loss in Philadelphia.
We saw him use Malo Gusto as a traditional full back when, normally, that is not the style of Maresca. Reece James was also in midfield and Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, while Cole Palmer was on the right wing, Pedro Neto left, and Liam shot at the top.
Maresca made it sound as if he is trying to find new solutions Prior to the next season-misschien, he wants to use Palmer on the right-hand side more than he has been, who knows and the blues boss suggested that the experiment worked an hour-like.
I am not so sure, because Gusto was caught so often from his right-hand position that it gave us flashbacks to the conference competition final in Wroclaw, Poland, when he was addicted to play so badly during the break. Flamengo operated Chelsea in the space he opened.
Yet there is nothing wrong with the strange experiment, and the club World Cup is the place to do that, because Chelsea's involvement in this competition spends them of their usual pre-season preparation.
Goal man problems go on
Nicolas Jackson made sure that the chatter went all over after the game, and perhaps Robert Sanchez should secretly be grateful for the moment of madness of his striker.
The keeper of Chelsea did not have the best match, because he made two mistakes even within the first three minutes while trying to faint from the back. Both led to Flamengo opportunities to score.
Sanchez still doesn't trust. He is a keeper who is not fond of playing fit, and Maresca is a manager who demands his keeper Passes. Not ideal, that.
With every appearance it wonders if Chelsea goes back for AC Milan's Mike Maignan, despite sources who say they wanted to sign a keeper before the World Cup Club. Nothing goes beyond some hearts to let you reconsider the situation.
Jackson's self -destruction
You imagine that it was not the easiest summer for Jackson – the way he saw his club connected to this striker and that. They sign Delap for £ 30 million, but they are still linked to being looking for other versatile center Vooruit. Sources do not play those names either.
Jackson is therefore under pressure and this newest act of self -destruction was not the greatest way to make themselves loved by Chelsea or their fans.
He is now being suspended in the club World Cup, after missing the end of their Premier League season. The Jackson teammates insisted in the mixed zone that he will make up for it, but then we have heard that before.
Brazil fly high
Brazilian parties are unbeaten during the Club World Cup.
Palmeiras, Botafogo, Fluminense and Flamengo have not lost any game.
But then there may be a few reasons for it. For example, Flamengo played only 11 games in their domestic season, while this match Chelsea's 59th of 2024-25 represented.
The Brazilians are used to playing degrees in 30s, while Chelsea is not.
This tournament seems to mean more to the South Americans, while Europeans, I think it is fair to say, consider more as an inconvenience for where it falls in their calendar.
So perhaps there are a few reasons why, but at the end of the day it is 11 versus 11, and Flamengo earned it to win that match about Chelsea as soon as everything was said and done.
Santos
Chelsea set up Andrey Santos for the media the day before the Flamengo game in Philadelphia. He spoke about the possibility of making his debut and what was particularly confronted with this Brazilian side – the rivals of Vasco da Gama, whose academy he came through – would mean for him.
It was quite heart -warming, but then he didn't get minutes. These are now two games in the United States without a appearance of Santos, and you have to wonder if Chelsea hopes he will take the hint.
He is a self -assured boy, Santos, and still only 21. He enjoyed an excellent loan to Strasbourg in the past term and now the Brazilian wants to fight for his place in the first team of Blues.
But still, waiting for a competitive debut continues. Maresca has promised that his chance will come, but then it is difficult not to think that rival voorders will follow his situation closely.