Chelsea have qualified for the last-16 of the Club World Cup following their 3-0 win over Tunisian side Esperance. Goals from Tosin Adarabioyo, Liam Delap and Tyrique George ensured a victory for the Blues.
Enzo Maresca made a host of changes for the clash in Philadelphia, with regular starters such as Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah among the substitutes.
The Blues' head coach was rewarded for his decision with a comfortable outing for his team, as the likes of Josh Acheampong and Tosin putting in accomplished displays, while Delap put in a dominant performance.
The victory ensures Chelsea will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, where they will meet an unexpected opponent. The Blues will take on Benfica at the Bank of America Stadium, after the Portuguese side ran out surprise winners over Bayern Munich.
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And Maresca has been given a further boost for the clash, knowing that he can go into the game with no fresh suspension issues. Chelsea came into the last group match with six players in danger of missing their round of 16 game after picking up a yellow card in one of their first two matches against Los Angeles FC and Flamengo.
However, Marc Cucurella, James, Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto took up places among the subs, meaning they were not in danger of accruing another booking. Tosin and Delap were the other two who could have missed the next game had they been shown a yellow card.
It certainly would have been a headache had Delap missed the match - especially with Nicolas Jackson still suspended for the first knockout game after his two-match ban for a red card against Flamengo. However, the English striker got through unscathed until the hour-mark when he was replaced by Marc Guiu.
The Blues know that a win against Benfica next time out will propel them into the quarter-finals, where they would face one of Botafogo or Palmeiras - lining up a potential clash against Estevao Willian, the Brazilian wonderkid who will join the club later this summer from Palmeiras.