Two giants in their respective continents clashed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Wednesday night as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 victory over Club America as part of the FC Series.
Both teams put out a mix of starters and reserves to kick off the match. The Blues fielded new signings Tosin Adarabioyo in defense, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall in midfield and Marc Guiu leading the line as the striker in a 4-2-3-1.
Las Aguilas opted for the same shape, but fielded some more regular starters in preparation for its Leagues Cup participation. Former LA Galaxy midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos and LAFC winger Brian Rodriguez started alongside Mexican internationals Luis Malagón and Henry MartÃn.
Chelsea made its superior quality known early on as Romeo Lavia earned a penalty after being brought down by Cristian Calderon inside the box. Christopher Nkunku sent his spot kick down the middle to open the scoring after just three minutes.
The Blues doubled their lead in the 21st minute after Dewsbury-Hall crossed into the box for Marc Guiu who headed it in to make it 2-0 in Chelsea’s favor.
The rest of the half was a story of blue domination. Chelsea outshot America 11-4 and likely could have scored another couple of goals with the various chances it created. In addition to its work in front of goal, Chelsea’s intense pressure was a key in its control over the match. The Blues made America all kinds of uncomfortable and forced many key mistakes that led to deadly moments in transition.
Although America came swinging out of the gate in the first minutes of the second half, the Blues were able to stay solid at the back. Chelsea was then awarded another penalty in the 79th minute after Rodolfo Cota, America’s goalkeeper, fouled Nkunku inside the box. Noni Madueke, who was electric for Chelsea throughout the match, placed his spot kick into the top corner to increase the lead to 3-0.
Las Aguilas fought hard to grab a consolation goal, but it wouldn’t come for them as the match ended in a 3-0 victory for the Premier League giants.
Chelsea now heads to Columbus, Ohio where it will face reigning Premier League Champion Manchester City on Saturday. Club America, meanwhile, has a match against Aston Villa at Soldier Field in Chicago on the same day.