Chelsea suffered a damaging 3-1 defeat to Flamengo at the Club World Cup, with substitute Nicolas Jackson seeing red just minutes after coming on.
The match, held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, saw Chelsea initially take the lead but ultimately unravel in the second half.
Enzo Maresca’s men looked to have gained control early on after Pedro Neto finished off a swift counterattack to score his second goal of the tournament.
The Blues continued to press, with Liam Delap, making his first start, nearly doubling the lead, forcing a fine save from Flamengo goalkeeper Agustin Rossi.
However, Chelsea’s grip on the game loosened after halftime. Flamengo substitute Bruno Henrique equalised, turning in Gonzalo Plata’s knockdown at the back post.
The goal sparked a collapse in the Chelsea defence, as former Manchester City full-back Danilo took advantage of slack marking at a corner to fire Flamengo ahead moments later.
Things got worse for Chelsea in the 67th minute when Nicolas Jackson, brought on in a bid to salvage the result, was dismissed just four minutes into his appearance.
The forward recklessly raked his studs down Ayrton Lucas’ shin and was shown a straight red card, his second in just over a month after also seeing red against Newcastle in the Premier League.
The dismissal came on Jackson’s 24th birthday, a day that was already clouded by rising competition from new arrival Liam Delap, who impressed in his starting debut.
Flamengo added a third late on through substitute Wallace Yan, who calmly finished off another flowing move to ignite wild celebrations among the 54,019 spectators, an attendance that far exceeded Chelsea’s previous match against LAFC.
Despite Neto’s early strike and Delap’s promising display, Chelsea’s defensive frailties in the second half proved costly.
The defeat leaves Flamengo three points clear at the top of Group D, with Chelsea needing a win in their final group game against Tunisian champions ES Tunis to keep their hopes of progressing alive. That match kicks off at 2am on Wednesday.
