Flamengo 3–1 Chelsea Player Ratings: Bruno Henrique Leads 2nd Half Comeback as Brazilian Club Reaches Club World Cup Knockouts

The table toppers, Flamengo and Chelsea, faced off against each other at the Lincoln Financial Field for the second round of the Group D fixtures, where Flamengo emerged victorious after an unexpected turn of events.

Flamengo initiated the proceedings, and they set the tone of the match very early with their constant pressing. They pressed, won balls, and made some good attacks. Just when CR Flamengo lost possession, Chelsea FC went on to attack with all their might and came very close to scoring. However, to their dismay, Rossi stood tall and denied the attempt. It felt like both teams followed the principle “Attack is the best Defense”. Pedro Neto won the ball from the sluggish defenders, made a run, and found the back of the net after a 1v1 with the keeper to open the accounts for Chelsea. This pumped up the Brazilian side, and they started attacking with much desperation. Though they were unable to find the equalizer, the attack led to Chelsea committing fouls in quick succession and getting booked by the referee for some odd number of times.

In the second half, it was pure domination by Flamengo. They kept knocking on the Chelsea doors. When Chelsea objected to open, they broke open three times with the services of Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace. The Flamengo gaffer made some surprising substitutions, which were criticised by the commentators; however, he proved everything wrong as all three goals had contributions from the substitutes. Later, Chelsea substitute Jackson got a red card and was sent off. The ten men Chelsea were helpless against the Flamengo force, and at full time it was 3-1 in favour of the Brazilian side.

Here are the Flamengo vs Chelsea Player Ratings:

Flamengo Player Ratings vs Chelsea

Goalkeeper

Agustin Rossi - 6.5/10

Rossi was put to test very early in the game. Made a stunning save off a shot from Delap from the right. Couldn't have done anything more to prevent the opponents from scoring the breakthrough. Somehow, the keeper was able to find his hands to block most of the attempts of Flamengo.

Defenders

Wesley - 6/10

Was sloppy in the match. Made a horrible error in the midfield, as a shot taken by the player deflected Pulgar and went straight to Neto, who made a run and scored for the opponents. Later, the fullback made some excellent recovery works and equally contributed to the attack from the wings.

Danilo - 7.5/10

Danilo did not have much impact on the defense. For this reason, he was desperate to contribute to the interest of the team. Was present in the penalty spot during the set-pieces and got his touch to direct the ball into the goal, providing the much-needed lead for his team.

Leo Pereira - 7/10

The defender was more or less like a playmaker on the left flank. He covered almost every blade of grass in the left wing. Marked his presence both in attack and defense by providing some good passes and making some interceptions and tackles, respectively.

Ayrton Lucas - 6.5/10

Was more focused on the right back and centre back position simultaneously whenever Leo moved further up. Won some good amount of duels, blocked the attempts, and stood like a guarding wall to protect the fortress.

Midfielders

Gerson - 7/10

Had a pretty dominating performance in the midfield during the first half. Won a good number of duels, had a great passing accuracy, and was very mobile on the right flank, making some good runs and providing some good crosses. Won some fouls in the attacking half, which slowly shifted momentum to his side.

Jorginho - 7/10

Had a fairly decent role in the midfield. Deserves a good share of credit for keeping Palmer silent for the vast majority of the match. Won some fouls, which led to the opponents getting booked. This was very pivotal in the match as the players who were booked played relatively safe, and this impacted the overall team performance.

Erick Pulgar - 6.5/10

Had an indirect role in his team conceding the first goal. The shot taken by Wesley hit Erick and went straight to an opponent. Was everywhere on the pitch, providing passes and through balls whenever needed.

Forwards

Gonzalo Plata - 6.5/10

Was silent throughout the first half. In the second half, Plata's presence of mind helped the team win a ball from Recee James after a defensive error. The player made a solid run, surpassing all the defenders, but failed to convert as the defenders were able to somehow take him to a tight angle. Was unselfish and provided the assist for the equalizer.

Giorgian De Arrascaeta - 6.7/10

Made some good deliveries inside the box, which, however, did not make it into the scoresheet as his teammates were unable to connect them. Took some long-range shots, out of which most of them were overhit and missed the target. Surprisingly, was the first person to be subbed off.

Luiz Araujo - 6/10

Got some good crosses inside the box. Despite that, the player was unable to control and connect those, as he could not match the pace of the crosses given. His relatively dim performance was shadowed by the brilliant gameplay of his teammates.

Substitutes

Bruno Henrique - 8.5/10

Came in as a substitute and scored the goal to register the equalizer for Flamengo. Was hardworking from the first minute he came in. Just minutes later provided the assist for the second goal. Though the minutes played were less, his impact was huge.

Varela - 6/10

Wallace Yan - 7/10

Scored the third goal, marking the nail in the coffin.

Michael - NA

Pedro - NA

Manager

Filipe Luis - 8/10

Could have had one of the best matches of his managerial career. Though his team started in a terrible manner, he was able to identify the opponent's weaknesses, plan out his modified tactics, and properly deploy them to find the win. Had some bold yet timely substitutions as the fresh legs were the game changers of the day

Chelsea Player Ratings vs Flamengo

Goalkeeper

Robert Sanchez - 6/10

Was decent in the match. Held his hands to make some good saves, communicated well, and made some high claims. In the second half, it was a complete turnaround as Sanchez conceded back-to-back goals.

Defenders

Levi Colwill - 6/10

His experience came in handy as the player made a goal-line save in the dying minutes of the first half. In the second half, everything shattered as the defence was unable to communicate and coordinate to resist the Flamengo attacks.

Trevoh Chalobah - 6/10

Was good in the first half making some interceptions and clearances whenever the men in red and black tried to attack from the centre and the wings. While coming to the second half, Trevoh, along with his teammates, left some space, which was properly punished by the opponents.

Reece James - 5.5/10

James committed a very big error in the very same way the opponents did in the first half. Lost the ball to the opponents in the midfield and this created some tensions.

Midfielders

Marc Cucurella - 6/10

Though Cucurella was assigned the midfield position in the lineup, he constantly switched his position and made his presence felt in the defence too. Was the first one to swing the boot and clear the set pieces taken by the opponents.

Moises Caicedo - 5.5/10

Was aggressive early into the match. This over-commitment led to the Ecuadorian midfielder getting booked by the referee, which caused problems as the player's performance became a bit too safe-sided.

Enzo Fernandez - 6/10

Provided some exceptional through balls into the attacking third to shift the momentum towards Chelsea. Fernandez was decent in the duels; however was unable to bring out the performance the player is known for.

Malo Gusto - 6/10

Would be difficult to put the right back's performance into quantitative terms. Gusto was not involved much in the game as the opponent's left wing was rather ineffective. All their attempts came from either the centre or from the other flank. The player, rather than adapting to that position, remained immobile.

Forward

Pedro Neto - 6.5/10

Neto seized possession in the middle of the park and hurtled forward with speed beyond the Flamengo defence. The Portuguese then composed himself to slot past Rossi, marking the opener.

Cole Palmer - 5/10

Was not much in action during the first half. Was finding it a bit hard to get away from Jorginho. Palmer was only able to win a countable number of duels out of the fairly significant number of them.

Liam Delap - 4/10

Had a brilliant opportunity to score the opener very early. But the player took an extra touch, which gave time for the keeper to take a proper position. Got some good chances on his feet, but adding to his disappointment, Delap was unable to convert any of them. Everything felt okay until it came to finishing.

Substitutes

Jackson - 3/10

Was his 24th birthday and would have expected to have a great match. Unfortunate for him, he was not composed and made a rather ‘stupid error' which gave him a direct red card just within 5 minutes of coming on.

Lavia - 6/10

Marc Gulu - NA

Noni Madueke - NA

Manager

Enzo Maresca - 6/10

Had a brilliant first half. Unfortunately, had to see the empire he made in the initial half burn into ashes. Maresca was unable to regroup the team after conceding the first goal. Must focus on stabilising the defence and improving the final third goal conversion rate.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match goes to Bruno Henrique