In the end, everything turned out well for Flamengo on Friday after they managed to beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Club World Cup.
However, it is fair to say that their manager and former Chelsea defender Filipe Luis was quite worried heading into the game.
It looked like his worst nightmare would come true after Pedro Neto opened the scoring for the Blues in just the 13th minute. But Flamengo were able to turn things around after goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo and Wallace Yan.
After Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Los Angeles FC, Steve Cherundolo lauded Enzo Maresca’s side, and Luis has also been quite complimentary of them.
Filipe Luis impressed with Chelsea’s tactical play
Flamengo were helped out by Nicolas Jackson’s red card, which the 24-year-old picked up less than five minutes after coming on, but the Brazilian side dominated throughout the game and were the deserved winners on the day.
Prior to the Club World Cup fixture, though, Luis had some fears because of the quality of Chelsea’s tactical play.
The retired Brazil international has even claimed he had sleepless nights because of it and told Maresca as much.
Speaking to BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella and other journalists after Flamengo’s win against Chelsea, he said: “I told Maresca I lost four nights sleep because they have the most complete tactical play in Europe and the players understand their model.”
Filipe Luis gives his verdict on Nicolas Jackson red card
Luis has also spoken about Jackson’s red card, which he received in the 68th minute after a poor tackle on Lucas Ayrton.
For the Flamengo manager, the 24-year-old deserved to be dismissed, but he is still tipping him to have a bright future.
On Jackson, Luis said: “I think the red was clear, but it is just a small detail for a big player, and he can be one of the biggest strikers in the world.”
Jackson also saw red in the Blues’ 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United back in May, so his discipline, or lack thereof, is something that the Senegal international needs to work on.
He will now miss Chelsea’s final group game against Esperance Sportive de Tunis, while Maresca will also be without the striker for the club’s first game of the new Premier League season.
