Chelsea Star Admits Blues “Weren’t Perfect” Despite Opening Club World Cup Win Over LAFC

Chelsea got their Club World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC, but not everyone in the squad was completely satisfied with the performance.

In front of a surprisingly quiet crowd of just 22,000 inside a much larger stadium, the Blues got the job done and secured all three points in their group opener. However, defender Levi Colwill has admitted that while the result was positive, the team knows they can—and must—do better.

Speaking after the match, Colwill told Chelsea’s official website:

“The most important thing was to get the win and that’s what we have done. We picked and chose our moments where we could attack and where we could keep the ball. It wasn’t the perfect performance, but in tournament football, you just need to win.”

Chelsea’s goals came in either half, with Nicolas Jackson providing a brilliant assist for Pedro Neto to score in the first half. In the second, new signing Liam Delap set up Enzo Fernandez with a clever pass that allowed the Argentine to calmly finish from close range.

But while Chelsea found the net twice, their performance overall was far from flawless.

The second half, in particular, saw the Blues lose focus at times and allow LAFC too many chances. If not for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who made a handful of important saves, the scoreline could have looked very different.

Colwill, who helped his team keep a clean sheet, added that defensive discipline will be key as the tournament progresses.

“To take a clean sheet is the most important thing for the defenders,” he said. “You know we’ve got amazing attackers and they always score goals. So for us defenders in the team, we need to keep clean sheets to win games. And of course they had their chances, but hopefully next game we can minimise them.”

The Club World Cup format means there’s little room for error, and Colwill knows tougher tests are still to come.

“We’re coming up against different teams and that will be a huge challenge, but we’re going to enjoy it and learn different things,” he said. “The tournament has kicked off, and our focus is on the next game now.”

While the win puts Chelsea in a strong position in their group, manager Enzo Maresca and his players will know improvements are needed if they want to go all the way in the competition.

Still, a win is a win—and with the first three points in the bag, the Blues can build from here.