FLAMENGO delivered a potent reminder that the so-called superiority of European teams in club football is fading quickly after the Brazilian outfit beat Chelsea 3-1 in a Club World Cup contest that felt like a home match thousands of miles from Rio.
The Brazilian champions turned Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field into a tropical carnival, with 55,000 passionate supporters creating an atmosphere that was in stark contrast to Chelsea’s casual approach to the tournament.
Just 24 hours after Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said the competition had “a pre-season feeling” to it and that he would rotate key starters throughout the group stage, his side became the second European giants in two days to be humbled by Brazilian opposition.
Friday’s result followed Paris St Germain’s shock 1-0 defeat by Botafogo a day earlier that had ended Europe’s 13-year dominance over South American opposition in intercontinental club football.
Pedro Neto’s opener for Chelsea proved to be a false start as they were given the run around following the interval. Flamengo, under the tactical guidance of former Blues defender Filipe Luis, responded with a ruthlessness that their theoretically superior rivals could not match.
Bruno Henrique and Danilo struck in quick succession to flip the contest, before Nicolas Jackson’s reckless red card – for a studs-up challenge that illustrated Chelsea’s loss of composure – paved the way for youngster Wallace Yan to deliver the coup de grace.
“When we conceded the first goal their fans started to be loud, and immediately after we conceded the second one,“ Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella told DAZN, his words revealing the psychological impact of Flamengo’s thunderous support.
Following Yan’s goal, the supporters let out synchronised chants of “olé“ to hail their team’s achievement.
On Thursday, Botafogo put on a brilliant defensive performance to pull off the unexpected win over PSG, who had been in imperious form as they followed up their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final by routing Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opener.
Botafogo’s solid discipline left PSG looking feeble and a shadow of the team that dominated European football throughout the season.
“Botafogo were the team that has defended best against us all season. They were efficient. The only thing left for me is to congratulate them,“ PSG boss Luis Enrique told reporters.
With Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami also victorious against Porto, European clubs are in danger of returning home empty-handed from a tournament they had been odds on favourite to win.
