Delap, extreme heat & money – Chelsea’s Club World Cup so far

Chelsea have navigated extreme heat, weather warnings and given debuts to four players in reaching the knockout stages of the Club World Cup.

The Blues have earned £28m thus far and will soon cover the £30m fee paid to sign striker Liam Delap from Ipswich earlier this month.

The new striker has impressed with a goal and an assist in his first three matches for the club on US soil while midfielders Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo have made their debuts in the competition – along with defender Mamadou Sarr.

But Chelsea also suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat when manager Enzo Maresca experimented tactically against Brazilian giants Flamengo.

However, they comfortably beat weaker Group D duo Los Angeles FC and ES Tunis.

After finishing second, Chelsea will face Portuguese side Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in their final group game.

Delap, who signed from Ipswich before the tournament, made his debut in the opening game against LAFC and was impressive. His chipped cross was his first assist for the club as he set up Enzo Fernandez’s second goal in a 2-0 win.

The striker struggled to make an impact on his first start in the following game against Flamengo, but scored his first goal for Chelsea in the final Group D match.

Delap’s deft touch and spin gave him space to cut inside and place his shot past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

“It’s a great feeling, we needed to win and to get a goal is a special feeling,” said Delap.

Maresca added: “We expected the process to be quick with Liam because we know him and he knows us with the way we play.

“Against Flamengo he had three clear chances to score goals. That is already a good feeling because it means he is in the right position.”

Winger Pedro Neto excelled in the first two matches, scoring in both after rapid, powerful dribbles.

Jackson’s late studs-up challenge on Flamengo defender Lucas Ayrton at the end of a disastrous six-minute collapse, where goals from Bruno Henrique and Danilo cancelled out Neto’s early strike, put him in the firing line after a poor 3-1 defeat in the Blues’ second match.

The 24-year-old, on his birthday, had only been on the field four minutes after replacing Delap, with his suspension opening the door for his rival to also start the final group game.

Jackson was subsequently banned for a further match by world governing body Fifa, so will miss the last-16 tie against Benfica.

Chelsea were well-beaten by Flamengo with one source describing it as a “wake up call” about the level of South American opposition, who arrive at the Club World Cup mid-season.

Chelsea have been unfortunate to encounter unseasonably warm heat after booking a base at Philadelphia Union’s Subaru Park stadium and training ground.

Manager Maresca has described it as “impossible” to train in temperatures reaching 40C, which rank as the highest felt in the area in 13 years.

There have been health warnings advising against strenuous physical outdoor activity, so Chelsea have conducted “very short” training sessions with giant fans spraying cold water and drinks breaks after every drill.

Chelsea qualified for the Champions League – which is worth between £80m and £100m and should attract a new lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorship deal – before the Club World Cup.

But they are on for a double windfall, given the Club World Cup is the most lucrative competition in club football on a per match basis, according to Fifa.

The Blues made just under $38m (£28m) for qualifying for the tournament.

They earned another $2m for each win in the group stage, beating LAFC and ES Tunis. They will also earn $7.5m when facing Benfica in the round of 16, which takes their total to $49.5m.

There is a further $13.1m on offer for reaching the quarter-final, $21m for the semi-final and $30m for reaching the final. A further $40m is reserved for the winner.

It’s been a good tournament so far for the bank balance, but what about the fans? A total of 32,967 attended Chelsea’s final group game at the 67,000-capacity Lincoln Financial Field.

Bharat from the Philly Blues was one of them, and told BBC Sport: “I haven’t had any complaints about the organisation.

“I can understand some of the complaints about player welfare. It feels like they are using this competition as a dry run for next year’s World Cup and it will be interesting to see if they make any changes.”

UK-based Chelsea fan Cathy hasn’t missed an away game for 47 years and was one of the few to travel to the United States to continue her run.

“The pricing is too high considering the quality of some teams in the competition,” she said.

“It has left only fans of the teams involved in the competition interested in watching it and that is an own goal by Fifa.”

The club has revealed the club’s fans have access to 500 lower tier tickets priced at $153 and 466 value tier tickets priced at $35 for the game against Benfica.