Chelsea

Striker Liam Delap scored his first Chelsea goal as the Blues qualified for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup with a win over ES Tunis.

Enzo Maresca's side finished runners-up in Group D but avoid Bayern Munich in the last 16 and instead will face Portuguese side Benfica - who topped their group ahead of the Bundesliga giants - in Charlotte, North Carolina at 21:00 BST on Saturday.

What did you make of Chelsea's display and what are the talking points?

Come back to this page later on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea have restarted talks with Borussia Dortmund over winger Jamie Gittens in an attempt to find an agreement.

The Blues had a £42m offer rejected on 10 June.

The England Under-21 international has played just 13 minutes in the Club World Cup under Dortmund boss Niko Kovac and is keen to move to Stamford Bridge having previously been offered a seven-year deal with the club.

Bayern Munich are known to be interested but unlikely to progress talks.

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport Journalist

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed plans to sign a winger this summer and reports emerging on Tuesday suggest a deal for Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens could soon be finalised.

Negotiations have been helped by the fact both clubs are competing at the Club World Cup in the United States.

Gittens, 20, scored 11 goals in the first half of a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign but only added one more after mid-January and has been largely out of favour since the arrival in February of new head coach Niko Kovac.

A rapid right-footed winger who is most comfortable on the left flank, Gittens' top speed of 22.34mph last season was the 16th fastest in the German top flight.

That pace helps him excel in one-against-one situations – he came top among Bundesliga players across all competitions last season for dribbles attempted and completed.

He ranked in the top two percent among wingers for successful dribbles in Europe's top five leagues in 2024-25.

Gittens also scored twice as many goals as expected based on the quality of his chances, an overperformance only bettered by Patrik Schick, Julian Alvarez, Ayoze Perez, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

However, he ranks in the bottom 20% for chances created and he registered fewer assists than any of Chelsea's other likely wingers for next season.

But the stats overall suggest he would provide something different to the club's current options.

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The results of a survey of Chelsea fans has urged the Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) to join the Football Supporters' Association (FSA)'s 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' campaign.

It comes as the club introduces a range of new policies around ticketing and membership, including a new booking fee per ticket and a priority membership option.

According to the CST's survey, almost 90% of respondents instructed the trust to join the FSA's campaign which was launched in 2024 and has seen a number of protests across different supporter groups take place in support of the campaign.

The CST say that Blues fans have indicated they do not believe their loyalty is "understood or appreciated by the club" and that they will now "take action to highlight how supporters are continuously being overlooked".

The CST said: "Piece by piece, Chelsea FC is alienating a large part of our core fan base with decisions that will slowly force supporters to pick and choose which games they attend.

"The exploitation of members is also a worry, and we are deeply concerned that the increasingly bad deal that members have will negatively impact our club for generations to come.

"This should be a huge wake-up call to the owners and the senior leadership team within the club. Supporters are rejecting the decisions made by the club and are evidently unhappy with the current path being taken.

"Not only is it ethically wrong to exploit the loyalty of the lifeblood of our club, but it is strategically short-sighted and obliterates any trust or goodwill that had started to be built by recent positive initiatives."

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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There will be time to debate who has had a great tournament as the Club World Cup unfolds but one player has had a nightmare.

Nicolas Jackson may not be a name to conjure familiarity for fans across the United States but he could be ready to disappear fairly soon from the Chelsea fold.

Nicolas has managed to get stupidly sent off in two of his past four games. Against Newcastle in the Premier League, it nearly cost Chelsea a top five finish, a place in the Champions League and a cool £50m to £100m in earnings. Chelsea got lucky and qualified by the skin of their teeth, no thanks to Nic.

If Chelsea lose to Tunis and go out of this tournament, the suits upstairs at Stamford Bridge will not be impressed with another £5m leaking out of the club due to his impetuousness.

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On top of that, Jackson has suddenly gone from the 'go-to' number nine, to merely the back up for new boy Liam Delap. I was at a Chelsea supporters' event on Saturday night and the entire group had already written off Jackson in favour of Delap - and the latter has only played a combined 90 minutes of football for the club.

Jackson needs some love right now. He is a good striker and he was on an impressive upward learning curve before his injury earlier in the season. He is still one of the fastest strikers around, if not the most natural finisher.

The problem is, I am not sure this will be enough for Chelsea now. He could do a job for a good Italian, French or Spanish side. For Chelsea it will all come down to the money offered but it just shows the vicious nature of football. You can go from indispensable to superfluous in a heartbeat - or 90 minutes at least.

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After his latest red card, we asked you for your opinions on Nicolas Jackson and whether he needs to change how he plays.

Here are some of your comments:

Tony: Jackson has talent but he needs to sort two things out quickly. First, he must start to put away the number of chances he misses. Secondly, he needs to channel his discipline better and not leave his team short. Whether he can do those things I'm not sure, because Liam Delap is going to put pressure on him. Right now, I'd choose Delap over Jackson.

Barry: We've stuck with Jackson hoping he would develop into the player Chelsea so desperately need up front. He hasn't and, more to the point, he is becoming a liability, letting his team-mates down when he is most needed to step up to the plate. It's time for him and Chelsea to part.

Carol: I am concerned by Jackson's frequent indiscipline. With Diego Costa it was different. I sit very close to the pitch at Chelsea and you could always tell when Diego's red mist was about to descend. But he scored and set up a lot of goals, so it balanced out and we accepted the risks. With Diego, we knew he was giving his all for the team and sometimes it resulted in impetuous behaviour and bookings. I'm unconvinced Nicolas feels as passionate about the team. Would he say: 'I go into battle, you come with me?' Doubt it. Yes, he's still young, but at 24 he should have learned - he's had two seasons in the Premier League.

Osman: Let's say Jackson was scoring goals frequently like Costa and once in a while he's shown a red card, that would not have drawn too much of criticism. But, in Jackson's case, he's not been doing that. Jackson must be sold or becomes second to Delap. Simple.

Dan: Chelsea fans are a bit to harsh on Jackson because he, at least for the 2024-25 season, was expected to lead our attack. However, doing stupid tackles like against Flamengo doesn't work in his favour. He isn't a particularly dirty or hot-headed person like Costa was, and I think his underperformance on goalscoring does bring up more scrutiny on his weaker moments than other players. He just needs to mature a bit and not get silly bookings which negatively impact Chelsea's performances.

Colin: His behaviour unbalanced the whole team and left them one man down. Not easy in the heat of the game but he needs to change.

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Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Liam Delap was one of this summer's most-wanted strikers.

But it was Chelsea who won the race for his signature and, speaking before the Blues' final Club World Cup group game against ES Tunis, Delap revealed why - including the pull of Europe and reuniting with some familiar faces.

"You never know if it is going to be the right decision but you've just got to go with your gut and hope it works out," he said. "You've got to take your time. I took a few days to speak to people and decide my future."

Chelsea's star attacker Cole Palmer was one of the people he consulted, after first playing together at Manchester City when he was just 15 years old.

"I asked him what I needed to ask him," Delap added. "He told me what I needed to know, but I don't like too much information. Ultimately it was my decision, so I kind of just wanted my head to be clear."

Palmer has become the poster boy for Chelsea after two sensational seasons and Delap was asked if he hopes to emulate his former academy team-mate.

"Yeah, of course, that's the goal," he said. "I think we both had similar positions and he has gone and smashed it, so hopefully I can also."

Reports in May suggested Manchester United were frontrunners to sign Delap at first, but their Europa League final defeat and a poor league campaign left them without European football for next season - and Chelsea's Champions League qualification did play a part in his decision.

"It wasn't the be all and end all, because I was also looking towards future seasons, but it helps," Delap revealed.

Speaking about his new manager Enzo Maresca, who he played under during his time in Manchester City's academy, Delap said: "I've got a good relationship with him. I know how he plays. I've played in this system before. It's very similar now but with little tweaks.

"I know a lot of the players here. The project of the club, and how they see the future, that's what excited me."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says it is "impossible" to organise normal training sessions amid a "code red" severe heat warning in Philadelphia at the Club World Cup.

Chelsea's players had what was described as a "very short" training session at Subaru Park, the home of local Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union, in 37C heat as medical staff watched.

There were crates of iced water bottles around the pitch and drinks offered at every opportunity in between drills.

Huge fans were placed on the sides of the pitch, blowing water spray at the players, and they trained in the only partially shaded area of the open stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is just outside Philadelphia.

The 45% humidity means it feels more like 45C, according to accuweather.com, and temperatures on Monday were predicted to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8C) for the first time in 13 years.

"As you can see, it's not easy in these conditions with these temperatures. We are going to try to do our best," said Maresca.

The local public authority has warned people in Philadelphia to avoid "work in high-heat environments" and to avoid "strenuous physical activity".

However, some matches at Fifa's newly expanded tournament have kicked off in the middle of the afternoon, with temperatures at their highest.

"It's difficult to work with these temperatures, but we are here and we are trying to do our best and we will try to win," said Maresca.

The Blues are set to face ES Tunis on Tuesday evening at 21:00 local time (02:00 BST on Wednesday), with daytime temperatures predicted to reach close to 39C in Philadelphia. However, it is likely to still be around 33C when Chelsea kick off at Lincoln Financial Field.

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Marc Cucurella says the Chelsea squad have accepted Nicolas Jackson's apology for his red card against Flamengo and the incident has already been "forgotten".

Jackson was dismissed for an ugly tackle four minutes after coming on as a substitute as Chelsea suffered a second-half collapse to lose 3-1 on Friday.

When asked if the apology he posted on social media had been accepted by his team-mates before the Blues' final group game against ES Tunis on Wednesday, Cucurella said: "Yes, for sure it's been accepted. What happened is just football.

"This game is sometimes about mistakes. He made a mistake, but we have forgotten about this. We'll miss him in the next game, but we have other players that can do his job."

That result means the Blues need to win to guarantee progression to the Club World Cup round of 16, but if they do they are likely to face Bayern Munich as Group C winners which could then be followed by a meeting with Paris St-Germain.

"Yes, both these teams are very good, and if we need to play against them, we will give it all we have got," Cucurella added.

"They could be important games. But we have a big game tomorrow first [against Tunis]. It's true that in this tournament there are a lot of important teams, and going far is something we see as a big responsibility.

"We are confident if we have to play these kinds of teams in the tournament."

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's final Club World Cup group game against Tunisian side Tunis (02:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca confirmed Reece James did not train because of illness and Levi Colwill has also been ill for the last two days, but took part in the session.

• The suspended Nicolas Jackson did not train because Maresca only wants players who are available to train the day before the match.

• On Christopher Nkunku: "Christo is with us. He's our player. He's doing very well in the last four, five days. For sure, tomorrow we are going to do rotation. We'll see if there is any chance for the ones that are not playing a lot."

• Maresca stressed the difficulty of training in the Philadelphia heat: "It's almost impossible to train, to make a session because of the weather. We are just trying to save energy for the game. It's not easy with these conditions, but we are going to try to do our best. Today's session was very, very, very short."

• He played down questions on the financial importance of progressing deep into the Club World Cup: "The owners just want the best for us, and for the players, game by game. They are not talking about the final reward in terms of money. They never put pressure on us to win this tournament because of the money."

• On the challenge posed by ES Tunis: "I watched both games, I watch some games in their league - even against Flamengo, they were in the game until the end. For sure, it's going to be a tough game."

• Asked about how much pressure there is to win and reach the last 16: "When you are Chelsea manager you are always under pressure and we'll do our best."

• On Marc Cucurella's workload: "We used Malo Gusto during the season on that side. Beginning of the season - Renato Veiga. For sure, in that position, he is the only one. Reece James did a few times. We can find different solutions. Even Josh [Acheampong] did for us."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

"Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake"

That was how former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel described Nicolas Jackson's red card against Flamengo in the Club World Cup on Friday night.

It took just four minutes from coming on as a late substitute for the striker to be walking back off the pitch after being sent off for a studs-up challenge.

It was the latest incident to lead to questions around Jackson's discipline.

The 24-year-old is now suspended in two competitions simultaneously having also been sent off in the Premier League in May in a then crucial game against Newcastle United.

Alongside his eight yellow cards, it means Jackson has a combined record of 10 cards across all competitions this season.

There were already question-marks around the Senegal forward's discipline when he first arrived in the last campaign after he picked up five bookings in his first six league games leading to an early suspension.

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Many hoped he had put that behind him when he received just five more across the rest of the season.

But these latest incidents have once again left supporters and onlookers asking if this is a bigger problem.

Since his arrival from Villarreal in 2023, Jackson has the joint-most red cards among Chelsea players alongside Reece James.

While he does not come out on top for total yellow cards or combined cards (fourth and third respectively), it is worth noting who the other players are that are above him.

Moises Caicedo leads the way with 28 bookings, but as a defensive midfielder, yellow cards come with the territory.

It is a similar story with Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez, as defenders and midfielders it is almost expected that you will pick up these cards as you try and stop attacks and break up play.

While you do not want your striker up front to be a pushover, you do want them to be clever in how they hold up the ball and battle with the opposition's defence.

The timing of Jackson's latest suspensions also means he is giving new arrival Liam Delap a free hit in the central striker role for Chelsea.

And although the latest Blues recruit is not exactly squeaky clean on the pitch himself - with 14, Delap picked up more yellow cards than Jackson last term - he has yet to be sent off in his senior football career.

But is a striker playing on the edge always a problem?

Former Blues forward Diego Costa had a notoriously fiery persona and picked up 30 yellow cards across his three seasons in west London - although, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, just the one red card.

Club legend Didier Drogba could also walk the discipline tightrope and notched up a combined 64 cards across 381 appearances for Chelsea.

However, with the contributions they offered in front of goal, it felt very much part of their game and helped them provide what they did on the pitch - an area supporters are yet to be convinced of with Jackson.

How concerning is Jackson's latest sending off? Can it be accepted as part of his game? Or does he need to change the way he plays?

Let us know

Bayern Munich have entered the race for Chelsea target Jamie Gittens, 20. The German champions are reportedly willing to offer Borussia Dortmund £55m for the winger. (Kicker - in German), external

As far as Chelsea are concerned, Nicolas Jackson, 24, is not for sale despite interest from Saudi Arabia and Europe. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter in Philadelphia

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea midfielder Dario Essugo has revealed Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim influenced his career as he looks to emulate N'Golo Kante, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele at Stamford Bridge.

The 20-year-old made his debut in the Club World Cup win over Los Angeles FC and is set for a role in Enzo Maresca's squad following his £18.5m move from Sporting.

Essugo made his debut in Portugal aged just 16 and six days old, becoming the youngest player to play for Sporting, while also becoming the youngest Portuguese player to play in the Champions League that same season.

He cited his then-Sporting manager Amorim among his influences: "I made one training session with the first team and the coach liked what he saw and he called me to play.

"He brought me to the first team so he helped me a lot, to understand the game, to reach the level I am here now. I am grateful. He is so demanding. He is a demanding person. He likes to win every time."

Chelsea's reason for signing Essugo is to reduce the workload on star midfielder Moises Caicedo and when asked about comparisons to the Ecuadorian, he continued: "Of course it is good when they compare you with a very big player but it is a mix of both because I want to go my own way to reach the top."

Essugo was produced by Sporting's famed academy, which also brought through Cristiano Ronaldo, and he cited a number of Sporting midfielders, past and present, as influences.

"Manuel Ugarte, Joao Palhinha and Morten Hjulmand were three big players I had the opportunity to learn from. Palhinha is so strong defensively and then Ugarte can play good too. So I learned."

But Essugo also looks up to famous figures from Chelsea's history.

"I want to make my own way but I also like to see Makelele, Essien and Kante, to follow their steps. I'm a defensive midfielder but I can also go forward and play box to box," he added.

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The Premier League has written to Chelsea to seek clarification over the club's position with ticket re-sellers - amid controversy over Todd Boehly's involvement in Vivid Seats.

Boehly is both a director and investor in Vivid, described as an "unauthorised ticket seller" by the league, and also owns a 13% stake in Chelsea.

The website lists Chelsea matches on its platform, with some tickets last season at Stamford Bridge going for as much as £20,000. It is not allowed to operate in the United Kingdom, although is permissible overseas.

Chelsea Supporters' Trust asked the Premier League to "act and investigate" the situation which it believes is both a "breach of trust and "a clear conflict of interest" in an open letter issued in March.

Premier League CEO Richard Masters has explained it is discussing the matter with Chelsea in a situation described as "ongoing" at a Football Supporters' Association event last week.

The Supporters' Trust has also submitted evidence against the American company to the government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Boehly, Chelsea and Vivid have been contacted for further comment.

Vivid CEO Stanley Chia is quoted by Sportico , externalas saying "economic and political volatility" has impacted the ticketing market as the company's share price fell by 61% this year.

Chelsea have recently pledged to take action on ticket touting, although without naming Vivid or other ticket re-sellers, which the CST letter said it was "encouraged" by.

There have been concerns about a "flat" atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, highlighted by previous manager Mauricio Pochettino and echoed by current head coach Enzo Maresca at times last season, amid trials of a singing section in the Conference League.

Chelsea are currently participating in the Club World Cup in the United States and next face ES Tunis in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter in Philadelphia

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella says the heat in the United States at the Club World Cup, and the time off following the end of the domestic season, has made it more difficult for European teams.

South American teams went undefeated in their first nine matches in the newly expanded competition - a run that included Brazilian club Flamengo beating Chelsea 3-1 in Philadelphia.

"Flamengo also have a good team, they are first in the league with a lot of international players and are in the middle of their season and physically did better than us in this moment," said Cucurella.

"Some of our players had a few weeks off and now we need to restart again so it's a bit tough for the European teams.

"They also played in the heat and maybe these things we can control better in this moment and we can learn, but it's better it happens now in these stages rather than in the later rounds."

The match took place in 27C heat but Chelsea's last group match against ES Tunis could play in temperatures of up to 37C as a heatwave hits their base in Philadelphia.

Cucurella added: "The conditions are not the same as well for European teams and it's not an excuse. It's a reality and it's one of the reasons.

"But this is the tournament we need to play, we cannot make excuses and if we win the next game then we will go through.

"The two goals were pretty similar. They were crosses, they won the first contact, and just put the ball in the net. We need to improve.

"We have a tactic to defend and we can do better but it's true that it's our second game in a short space of time and these things can happen."

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We asked for your views on Chelsea's performance following their 3-1 defeat by Flamengo at the Club World Cup.

Here are some of your comments:

Kim: Another game when the manager plays players out of position and wonders why it doesn't flow. As for Jackson, he's just not up to this level.

Steve: Poor performance all round. Seemed that there was a lack of any strategy going forward. Sanchez worried me every time he had the ball at his feet. Good shot-stopper but not at all comfortable when he has time to think. Jackson an absolute disgrace - too prone to doing something stupid and letting the team down.

Alan: First and foremost, Jackson needs to go. He is a liability to the club. Secondly, something seriously needs to be sorted out with the defence. It's an absolute shambles. Thirdly, what is the point of only playing James for 50% of each match when he is clearly making an impact on the match. And lastly, how much longer are the owners going to put up with Maresca's inability to read the game and act accordingly?

Steve: Can't see what all the fuss is about. Chelsea are virtually on their holidays after a long season. Flamengo are midway through their season playing in a climate they enjoy. If the roles were reversed and the tournament was being played in favour of the European teams, then we'd see different results.

Henry: After a good first half, we lost our way in the second half. Our opponents appeared to be more motivated and took their opportunities well. Perhaps it's a case of one tournament too many. Having already played a full season, the players need a rest.

Ash: An inept, dreadful performance against a spirited Flamengo side who were made to look good by Chelsea's performance. Jackson needs a good long spell out of the team.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

What did you make of Chelsea's display and what are the talking points?

Come back to this page on Saturday to find a selection of your replies