Liam Delap grabbed his first goal for Chelsea in the early hours of Wednesday morning after scoring against Esperance Sportive de Tunis.
The striker helped Chelsea to beat ES Tunis 3-0 and qualify for the knockout round of the Club World Cup.
The Blues take on Benfica on Saturday for a place in the quarter-finals, and Delap is likely to start after Nicolas Jackson’s one-game ban was upgraded to two.
It was Enzo Fernandez who assisted Delap for his first Chelsea goal, and the latter has now spoken about the relationship the two have quickly developed. In Chelsea’s first match of the Club World Cup, Delap was the provider for Fernandez’s goal as the Blues went on to beat Los Angeles FC 2-0.
Liam Delap #9 of Chelsea enters the field before the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group D match between CR Flamengo and Chelsea FC
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Liam Delap told to make runs by Enzo Fernandez
Fernandez played a nice ball into Delap’s feet before the 22-year-old was able to fire past ES Tunis’ goalkeeper.
However, Delap has revealed that his teammate told him to keep on making runs before the game.
Speaking about Fernandez in a post-match interview with DAZN, Delap said: “He’s an incredible player. We’ve spoken as much as we can. He’s told me to run when he gets the ball and I did. He showed today his quality of passing.”
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Both players have certainly performed well at the Club World Cup so far and will be expected to start Chelsea’s first Premier League game of the new season.
The Blues begin their campaign with a London derby against Crystal Palace and will also be without Jackson for that after his red card away at Newcastle United last term. Jackson’s disciplinary record has come under real scrutiny following his latest dismissal.
Enzo Fernandez after Chelsea's win over Djurgarden
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Enzo Fernandez bags two assists
Fernandez also set up Chelsea’s opener against ES Tunis after his free-kick found the head of Tosin Adarabioyo.
The Argentina international has three goal contributions in as many games at the Club World Cup as he continues to show how productive he has become under Enzo Maresca.
Fernandez will now be looking to punish his former club Benfica to help Chelsea make it to the quarter-finals of the tournament.