After a straightforward 2-0 win on Monday against LAFC, Chelsea now take on the other heavyweights of the group, who also won their first game by the same scoreline.
Flamengo, led by former Chelsea left back Filipe Luís and recently bolstered by the signing of former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, beat ES Tunis without too much trouble, so the outcome of this game will surely determine who finishes top of the group. The runners-up will likely face Bayern Munich in the first knockout round, which isn’t ideal.
Enzo Maresca went with a very strong starting lineup against LAFC, which perhaps wasn’t needed but definitely made a statement of intent. Everybody did pretty well considering the strange vibes of a fifty-thousand empty seats. Flamengo’s fans will certainly make themselves heard. We got to use six substitutions (thanks to an extra concussion sub used by LAFC), so legs should still be in decent shape here four days later.
Choose wisely.
(Live results)
