Moises Caicedo says Chelsea will learn from Flamengo defeat | OneFootball

Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo insists lessons will be learnt from Friday’s loss to Flamengo at the Club World Cup.

The Blues capitulated in the second half in Philadelphia, surrendering a lead to lose 3-1 to the Brazilians and finish with 10 men.

Most of the damage was done in a torrid six-minute spell in which they conceded twice and had Nicolas Jackson – just four minutes after coming off the bench – sent off for a reckless tackle.

The result leaves them second in Group D with a win and a loss and potentially facing a more difficult route through the competition, with a possible clash against Bayern Munich in the last 16.

“It was difficult to take, but now we are focusing on the next game,” said Caicedo. “For sure, we need to learn from this game. We need to react.

“I think the team played well but you need to be focused for 95 minutes in this game because, in one second, you can lose the game and that was what happened.”

Flamengo looked the more energetic side but they lacked a cutting edge in the first half and it was Chelsea who carried the greater threat through some quick counter-attacks.

Liam Delap, making his full debut in place of Jackson, forced a good save before Pedro Neto broke from halfway to open the scoring with a well-taken strike in the 14th minute.

A feisty contest tilted in Flamengo’s favour when Bruno Henrique equalised just after the hour and veteran Danilo followed up with a second three minutes later.

The Premier League side were still reeling when Jackson was shown a straight red card for an aggressive studs-up challenge on Ayrton Lucas.

It was his second sending off in four appearances for the club and ended their hopes of fighting back.

Wallace Yan wrapped up the scoring seven minutes from time.

Manager Enzo Maresca partly put the defeat – and a subdued performance from key playmaker Cole Palmer in a wider role – down to experimentation ahead of next season.

The Italian said: “It’s not just about Cole. In the last two days we tried something completely different.

“For the first time we played in a different structure, just to prepare also for next season, to have more options.

“I think the plan was quite good for one hour until we conceded the goal, but I think at the end they deserved to win the game.

“Flamengo are a very good team with good players, with a good manager. They played very well.”