LAFC blanked by Chelsea in FIFA Club World Cup opener

ATLANTA -- After barely managing to sneak into the highly anticipated FIFA Club World Cup, LAFC were shut out 2-0 in their group play opener against Chelsea on Monday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Hugo Lloris and Los Angeles conceded a score in each half, allowing a pair of young Chelsea threats to make their impact felt. 25-year-old Pedro Neto struck on a breakaway in the 34th minute, making a nice move to send Ryan Hollingshead to the turf before firing one past the outstretched reach of Lloris for the game's first score.

Following a brief delay to the second half as Olivier Giroud waited for his jersey to be sent out to the field, the 38-year-old was brought on to begin the final 45 minutes, replacing Jeremy Ebobisse. His presence was almost immediately noticed as David Martinez's strike towards goal in the 50th minute took a deflection off Giroud and ended up wide of the net.

Martinez had entered the game in the first half for Nathan Ordaz, who exited in the 38th minute with a presumed concussion. 

LAFC continued to try and fight their way back into things with an equalizer, getting another close chance in the 71st as Hollingshead fired a rocket from outside of the box that ended up just beyond the bar with Robert Sánchez defending in net.

The squad once again had a flurry of opportunities in the 77th as Denis Bouanga, Matinez and Timothy Tillman all had shots put towards goal that couldn't find their way through. 

In the 79th, Chelsea finally found their second score of the match as 24-year-old Enzo Fernández took Liam Delap's cross and deposited it into the back of the net to create a 2-0 advantage. With 17 shots on goal compared to LAFC's 7, Chelsea's aggressiveness ultimately paid dividends.

Delap, a 22-year-old forward, subbed into the game in the 63rd minute for his Chelsea debut. He immediately made an impact, helping his squad find the dagger as they claimed three points on Monday.

LAFC, off to a start that they would have liked to avoid, will be back in action on Friday for the second match of group stage play against ES Tunis, who are scheduled to battle Flamengo in their first battle of the tournament on Monday evening.

Kickoff between LAFC and Es Tunis on Friday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT.