Chelsea and Flamengo are preparing to face off in a match at the top of Group D in the Club World Cup.
Chelsea kickstarted their Club World Cup tournament this week with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC. Meanwhile, Flamengo beat ES Tunis 2-0 in the same group.
On Friday night, English giants Chelsea will play against Brazilian club Flamengo in a mouth-watering showdown.
Chelsea will make a significant cash windfall just for participating in the expanded Club World Cup competition this summer. Now they’re in it, Blues fans will hope to see their young talented group go all the way.
Bruno Henrique claims rapid Chelsea press very well
Flamengo attacker Bruno Henrique, who’s scored 101 goals in 307 appearances for the Brazilian outfit, has been previewing his side’s fixture against Chelsea.
He thinks that Enzo Maresca’s side are very strong, and highlighted the pace with which their attackers press as a major strength.
When discussing upcoming opponents Chelsea, Henrique said via Globo: “A team with fast players, who press well up front, who play forward. It will be a completely different game, an open game. Chelsea plays, but they also let others play. It’s the game we like, but we have to be very careful, because we’re talking about a European team, a very strong team.”
Without a doubt, Chelsea have the personnel in their forward line to press with high intensity for 90 minutes.
For instance, Blues strikers Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson are both superb out of possession. Incidentally, Maresca has suggested Delap may replace Jackson against Flamengo in the starting line-up because he will look to rotate throughout the tournament.
On top of that, the likes of Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke can be so effective when they press from the front.
Will Mamadou Sarr or Andrey Santos feature?
Chelsea fans may have been slightly disappointed that Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos were both left on the bench in their Club World Cup opener against LAFC. However, there’s still lots of time for them to feature in the competition.
Sarr, 19, is waiting to make his Blues debut after officially joining from Strasbourg this summer.
The teenage centre-half is someone we would love to see in action at some point because he could be an exciting defensive option next season.
As for Santos, the 21-year-old midfielder shined alongside Sarr last term during a loan spell at Strasbourg. The Brazilian star is definitely a player we’re eager to see get some minutes as he’s on the rise.
Maresca should have played Santos against LAFC to ease concerns about his future, but perhaps he was saving him for the Flamengo showdown.
