Liam Delap shows why he should be Chelsea’s first choice striker in win over ES Tunis | OneFootball

Chelsea beat ES Tunis 3-0 in the Club World Cup to book their place in the round of 16 against Benfica, with Liam Delap the stand-out performer.

Despite Chelsea’s inconsistent start to the Club World Cup, they came into the final group game against Tunis knowing that their route to the semi-final was kind, to say the least.

They knew not losing against the Tunisian side would mean a round of 16 tie against Benfica. And whilst the Portuguese side were good enough to win against Bayern Munich earlier in the day, there’s no doubting Enzo Maresca and his men would certainly rather play against Bruno Lage’s side than the Bavarians.

And that is what they will do, on Saturday in Charlotte, after getting past Tunis. But the match was not without difficulty for the Blues.

Tunis made a quick start to the game, and caught Chelsea out with a couple of early counter-attacks within the first 15 minutes. Some top defensive work from Malo Gusto was needed to ensure Maher Kanzari’s side didn’t register themselves on the scoresheet.

Maresca admitted after the defeat to Flamengo that he had been experimental with his lineup and tactics, and he opted to do the same against Tunis.

Josh Acheampong, who has been the subject of high praise from the Italian, was given a rare start, and Christopher Nkunku was also in the starting XI.

But Chelsea spent much of the first half struggling to make things happen. The lack of creativity in the team was glaringly apparent.

Noni Madueke struggled on the left, whilst Enzo Fernandez and Nkunku were largely anonymous. It was, in honesty, a poor half for the Blues, until Fernandez floated a free-kick perfectly onto the head of Tosin Adarabioyo, who made no mistake and opened the scoring.

Things went from good to great just two minutes later when Fernandez was once again the provider, this time for Delap, who was by far and away the best player of the first period.

The Argentinian lofted a ball into the path of the striker, who controlled it well, bounced a defender off, weaved past Yassine Meriah, and calmly finished past the motionless Bechir Ben Said.

In his first two and a half games, Delap could hardly have made a better start to life at Chelsea. Nicolas Jackson is suspended, but may not regain a starting place if the Englishman carries on at this trajectory.

There were doubts as to whether the step up from Ipswich to Chelsea may be too large for the 22-year-old, but he has swiftly dispelled those with his performances on the global stage in this competition, though the Premier League will be a step up for the youngster.

Given the 2-0 lead going into half-time, paired with the fact Chelsea only needed a draw to advance, the second period was predictably comfortable and uneventful.

There was a run out for new signing Dario Essugo, who was given almost half an hour to prove his worth. There was also a long awaited debut for Andrey Santos, which fans had been clamouring for since the beginning of the tournament.

Tyrique George did add a 97th minute goal to make it a comfortable night for Chelsea in comical circumstances, after a tame shot that should have been easily saved was let in, and Ben Said was left looking up to the sky.

Chelsea have flattered to deceive so far in this tournament, but will have to rise to the occasion against Benfica, even if it is a more favourable draw than Bayern.