Chelsea 2-0 LAFC: Club World Cup – as it happened

Aha, Jacob Steinberg’s match report is with us:

Which means we’re finished her. Thanks for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t use them all. Peace out.

Is there a DAZN uniform? I’ve just noticed that everyone is the studio is wearing beige on beige, the polar opposite of:

Liam Delap is really happy to be at Chelsea and delighted to have contributed. The team have welcomed him really well and though it’s important to help the team with assists – as he did today – he wants to score first. He knows there’s competition for his place, but reckons you have to thrive off it.

Arsenal are really, really good at this.

Haverstock School, now there is a football team – well, in 90-91 anyway.

Not often you come across someone with three first names.

It’s the close season – apparently – but there’s been plenty of football news today.

Enzo Maresca is satisfied. The performance was good, Chelsea won the game, and Delap made his debut. “He knows the game we want to play, so the process is quite quick,” he says.

Otherwise, they’ll prepares for the next game against Flamengo and try to win. More news as I get it.

Neto is so dangerous when out wide, because he has loads of pace, plus power off either foot. If Chelsea can get him enough of the ball, he’ll be dangerous against any opponent. I do, though, wonder if there’s enough goals in them – can Delap be prolific? He’ll need to be if they’re to challenge for the title.

LAFC had chances at 1-0, but Chelsea had too much for them.

90+3 min Neto dips in off the right, laces a rising left-footer … which flicks the top of the bar.

90+2 min Bounga goes at Gusto again, hits the deck, and wants a penalty … but the ref is having no such thing, rightly so.

90+3 min Palencia hauls back Neto by the neck, is booked, and seems extremely angry given the situation.

90+2 min Jackson was Chelsea’s best player when he was on the pitch, but Delap offers much more of a goal-threat, I think. I’d expect him to be a starter pretty soon.

90 min We’ll have three additional minutes.

88 min Essugo does well to win the ball as LA try playing out, but can’t quite poke into the path of Delap. He’s been impressive so far, showing for the ball, using it well, and making sensible runs.

87 min Two further changes for LAFC: Yeboah and Marlon replace Tillman and Delgado.

87 min Nice from Chelsea, Delpa seizing a loose ball and showing nice feet in flicking a pass for George, who finds Neto. He crosses to the back post, where a fine last-ditch header from Palencia takes the ball away from the waiting Nkunku.

85 min Martinez runs at Colwill, tries a cross to the back post with the outside of his boot … and there’s too much on it.

84 min Now two changes for Chelsea: off go Palmer and Caicedo, on come Nkunku and Dario Essugo.

82 min A change I missed after the goal: LA sent Amaya on for Jesus.

81 min Long ball over the top, Gusto gets nowhere near it, and Bouanga is onto it! He falls – but was he shoved? – then, from the ground, somehow still swivels into a shot … that Sanchez saves. Gusto is lucky, because there was contact that made a difference, when he was nowhere near the ball.

Not any more they’re not! Palmer rolls down the side of the LA defence for Delap, who crosses well, and, bursting into the box, Fernandez controls with his body on the run, then hammers home from close range.

77 min Now Tillman sneaks around the outside of Cucurella, stands up a cross, and Gusto heads away from Giroud, just, then Colwill taps away when Bouanga crosses, Martinez has a shot blocked and a ball to the far post is slid behind by Bouanga, still there from the previous effort … but he was offside. At 1-0, LAFC are still bang in this.

76 min Delap bullocks into the box but Tillman gets in front of him and awaits the inevitable foul. the new boy is doing his best to ingratiate himself with the Chelsea support.

75 min Cucurella shoves Martinez in the back, who goes down clutching an ankle, and he’s booked.

73 min “Chelsea have three world-class players in Caicedo, Cucurella and James (if he stays fit of course),” reckons Julian Menz. “Palmer and Enzo are almost there. Lavia isn’t too shabby either, and we’ve yet to see what a real striker, Delap, can do to help the wingers. Not to mention the arrival of Santos and Estevao. Too young right now? Probably. Potential contenders? Absolutely.”

I’m looking forward to seeing Estevao, but the others? Good players, but a way off the best around in mine. Compare them to, say, Salah, Alisson and Van Dijk, or Kante, Hazard and Diego Costa.

72 min It’s a while since LA have mustered a serious attack, but as I type, Hollingshead finds himself in an advanced position down the left, he dashes across a tame challenge from Gusto, shoots … and the ball whizzes over the top. Warning for Chelsea.

70 min Caicedo into Neto, who slips a lovely reverse-pass into the box for Palmer; he looks inside, like he’s going to cross or seek the far corner, only to drag a finish high, but over the top.

69 min Good movement from Delap, one run for the defender and another run for himself, so when the ball comes he has space to diddle Long on the outside, but his cut-back, seeking Caicedo, is blocked.

67 min Bounaga is penalised for a foul on Fernandez, he stos in front of the ball, and Cucurella kicks it into him trying to get him booked. “No need for that,” moralises Michael Brown.

66 min Chelsea spread to George, who lays back for Fernandez … and his curler is blocked.

65 min Delap celebrates that debut by ostentatiously pushing Long over. Kerry Dixon will be kvelling.

64 min Two more changes for Chelsea: off go Madueke, who marks the occasion with a pair of snot rockets, and Jackson, with George and Delap coming on, the latter for his Chelsea debut.

63 min Martinez whacks Cucurella across the calves – that’s more of a booking than the shove for which he was booked – kicks the ball away, and the ref gives him what must be a final warning.

62 min This time, the corner goes into the box, winding up with gusto over the far side; he crosses and Jackson heads wide.

61 min Palmer pulls right and beats a couple of men by sliding a pass between them for Jackson, whose return is poor. But he collects it nonetheless, nips outside Palencia, and his shot is blocked behind.

58 min Cucurella bumps Martinez, who shoves him back; naturally, Cucurella collapses in a heap of curls, like the Wicked Witch of the West after Dorothy chucks the bucket of water (apologies for the spoiler). Martinez is booked.

57 min Long, searching ball over the top and Bouanga is goal-side of Neto! And he does superbly to hold him off too, then looks to sweep his shot inside the near post – not the finish Sanchez is expecting, but one that it’s easier to save … and he does, stretching out a foot. That was a really good chance.

56 min “Bill doesn’t sound a very popular traveling fan,” laments Tim Stappard. “A happy medium would be great. Craven Cottage maybe?”

Some seriously menacing prices in the hostelries round that way.

55 min The second corner also goes short, coming to nowt.

54 min It goes short to Palmer, who finds Neto, who teases a delicious ball towards the far post, where Jackson is up … but his header flicks a defender and goes behind.

53 min Chelsea go straight back on the attack with Colwill turning up on the left wing to win a corner.

51 min But here they come again, Martinez set against Cucurella and slowing him down, then nipping off on his outside only to find he’s too off-balance to do anything other than screw a shot wide of the near post. Still, though, that’s encouraging for LA – Martinez, only 19, looks like he’s got a bit of something.