Chelsea beat Los Angeles FC 2-0 at a mostly empty stadium during Monday afternoon. Only 22,137 fans attended the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium which holds 71,000 people. The Club World Cup match started at 3pm when most people worked regular jobs. Stadium officials closed the entire top section because ticket sales stayed low. Fifa expected around 26,000 supporters but fell short of that target.
Coach Enzo Maresca called the atmosphere strange because empty seats outnumbered fans. Professional players must adapt to different crowd situations according to the Chelsea manager. The middle section appeared full but the bottom area remained half vacant throughout the game. Tickets cost 37 pounds before kickoff and dropped to 26 pounds during the match. Fans could buy seats from nearly every stadium section through online sales.
Los Angeles sits over 2,000 miles away from Atlanta across southern America. LAFC replaced banned Leon as last-minute tournament entries with limited travel time. About 150 traveling supporters created more noise than Chelsea fans despite smaller numbers. The expanded tournament serves as practice for next summer's World Cup. America hosts both competitions with Canada and Mexico joining the larger event.
Coach Enzo Maresca called the atmosphere strange because empty seats outnumbered fans. Professional players must adapt to different crowd situations according to the Chelsea manager. The middle section appeared full but the bottom area remained half vacant throughout the game. Tickets cost 37 pounds before kickoff and dropped to 26 pounds during the match. Fans could buy seats from nearly every stadium section through online sales.
Los Angeles sits over 2,000 miles away from Atlanta across southern America. LAFC replaced banned Leon as last-minute tournament entries with limited travel time. About 150 traveling supporters created more noise than Chelsea fans despite smaller numbers. The expanded tournament serves as practice for next summer's World Cup. America hosts both competitions with Canada and Mexico joining the larger event.
