Chelsea Rue 'Almost Empty' Stadium in Opening Victory

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca labelled the atmosphere in his team's opening Club World Cup game on June 16 "strange," after the Blues triumphed in front of nearly 50,000 empty seats.

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ATLANTA -

The UEFA Conference League winners defeated Los Angeles FC 2-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with only 22,000 fans present at the 71,000-capacity arena.

"The environment was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full," Maresca told reporters.

"We are professional, we have to adapt to the situation, to the environment. It's important the behaviour of the players, the attitude, and once again they showed how professional they are."

The Italian added that his team had expected a larger crowd, but were hopeful they would get that in their second game against Brazil's Flamengo in Philadelphia on June 20.