Carlton Cole is confident Liam Delap will be having his finest moment to become a Chelsea legend following Nicolas Jackson’s dismissal. The Senegal international’s red card transformed the Blues’ hopes into a 3-1 defeat by Flamengo in the Club World Cup.
The Blues had begun the tournament in style, demonstrated their superiority over LAFC. They were expected to navigate their second group match with ease. Pedro Neto had given them the first-half lead, but Flamengo equalized the score and popped in two more.
The defeat also came with a moment of madness from Jackson. Having entered the game in the 72nd minute, the Senegalese forward was sent off after four minutes for a studs-up tackle on Ayrton Lucas.
On talkSPORT, former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole spoke frankly, stating,
“It doesn’t help when your striker gets sent off with a nonsense tackle that really didn’t have to go that way. When I look at the whole tournament, Maresca has got a lot of thinking to do. He might get something out of the tournament to see who he can actually depend on, the ones that he can trust to go to the trenches with him.
“But, for now, there are a few calls to be made on a few players. Jackson hasn’t made his case strong enough now because you can’t be doing that. It was a bad challenge as well, to be honest. And Delap is just going to be salivating at the opportunity because he didn’t think it would’ve come this quickly.”
Liam Delap Will Likely Replace Nicolas Jackson for Chelsea
Jackson’s absence will be greatly missed by Enzo Maresca, especially with the final group game at home against Esperance de Tunis. It also opens the way for Chelsea’s 21-year-old summer signing Delap to make an impact. Delap had impressed Chelsea in their first game, and with Jackson suspended, he will lead the attack once again.
It now falls to Maresca to calm the storm. The second consecutive red card in five games for Jackson indicates that there are problems with his temperament.
Delap, young and hungry, now has a clear opportunity, and he could be the Blues’ man of the moment at the Club World Cup. For Cole, this could be the turning point for Delap and Chelsea’s next season.