Flamengo – Chelsea: Blues Downed By The Samba As Maresca’s Tinkering Backfires (3-1)

Flamengo defeated Chelsea 3-1 in an intriguing encounter in the Club World Cup. Pedro Neto’s early goal for the Blues was cancelled by Bruno Henrique in the second half. Two more goals by Danilo and substitute Wallace ensured the 3-1 win for Flamengo as Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson was sent off for a reckless tackle on Ayrton Lucas. The win meant that Flamengo would qualify for the Club World Cup’s Round of 16 as Maresca’s experimentation spectacularly backfired.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

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No one could’ve seen this result coming. This was a victory for Brazilian football. This was a victory for South American football as a whole. Brazilian football in its infancy had its roots forged by Englishmen at the turn of the early 20th century when a certain Charles Miller and Oscar Cox spread the game in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, respectively. Cox was one of the founding members of Fluminese, where the ‘systema ingleza’ or ‘English system’, as termed by the locals at the time, began to spread. But this result, over a century on, sent a message back to England & the European elite — Brazilian football means business.

In Brazil the term is ‘jeitinho’ — literally, ‘the small way’ — it’s the Brazilian way to get things done. And this was a result that purely embodied ‘jeitinho’ as Flamengo under Felipe Luis resoundingly defeated two-time UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea. The was a victory for all of Rio to celebrate from the favelas to the urban areas of the fabled Brazilian city. This was a game where the samba was in full flow.

You could see what it meant to the Flamengo players as most of the bench ran to the corner flag to celebrate the goals on the night, three goals which sunk Chelsea and ensured Felipe Luis’ side would qualify for the Round of 16 at the Club World Cup. It was also a game where the fans, in their thousands, who had made the journey from Rio to the sunshine of Philadelphia to fill up the stadium, could vociferously celebrate the resounding victory. As soon as Bruno Henrique’s equaliser hit the back of the net, the pyrotechnics went off in the stands; the party had just begun.

It was a pivotal win for the young manager Felipe Luis. The 39-year-old spent one season as a player at Stamford Bridge after a move from Atletico Madrid. Chelsea then managed by Jose Mourinho meant that Luis couldn’t get enough game time as other squad members like Cezar Azpilicueta & others were favoured ahead of the Brazilian left-back in Chelsea’s starting eleven. So this was a side Luis knew well and had ties with, but fast forward to 2025 to this game and Luis would have his redemption, this time in the dugout managing Flamengo.

For Enzo Maresca, this loss was a bitter pill to swallow. Some would usually argue that Maresca’s tactics and gameplan are too rigid and one-dimensional, but in this match against Flamengo, he made a surprise tweak by fielding a new system in a 4-3-3.

The system was something that the Chelsea players couldn’t adapt to effectively. Maresca fielded Chelsea captain Reece James in midfield and Malo Gusto at right-back, while Cole Palmer was shunted to the right flank where he couldn’t assert his influence on the game. Things went from bad to worse for Chelsea after Nicolas Jackson’s red card reduced them to ten men. But this was a night where they were outplayed by Flamengo for large spells in the game & Maresca’s 4-3-3 was undone by Felipe Luis’ Flamengo.

Felipe Luis fielded his Flameno side in 4-2-3-1 shape. Augustin Rossi started in goal with a back four of Wesley at right back, Danilo and Leo Pereira at center-back and Ayrton Lucas at left-back. The midfield was anchored by the double pivot of Erick Pulgar and Jorginho with Gerson at right wing, Arrascaeta in the no 10 slot and Luiz Araujo at left wing as Gonzalo Plata led the line up front as the central striker.

Enzo Maresca also lined up Chelsea in a 4-3-3 formation. Robert Sanchez started in goal with a back four of Malo Gusto at right-back, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill at center-back and Marc Cucurella at left-back. The midfield three comprised Reece James, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo while the front three comprised Pedro Neto at left-wing, Cole Palmer at right-wing and Liam Delap through the middle as the lone striker.

Flamengo dominate but Chelsea catch lucky break

Flamengo in build-up alternated between a 3–1-2-4 and 2-4-4. Danilo or Leo Pereira, split wide when Rossi initiated play from goal with either Jorginho or Pulgar dropping deep to form a 3-1 base structure. Wesley tucked in as a third center-back at times allowing Ayrton Lucas to push high as a winger, creating a 3-1-6 higher up the pitch. This structure aimed to bypass Chelsea’s high press by drawing their wingers Neto and Palmer narrow, freeing Lucas and Gerson in wide areas.

Jorginho acted as the midfield metronome, and Pulgar’s positional astuteness ensured quick ball circulation, while Arrascaeta’s movement between lines pulled Caicedo, James or Enzo Fernandez out of position, creating gaps for Plata’s runs.

Flamengo alternated between direct play and midfield & wide combinations. When Chelsea pressed high, Danilo or Pereira launched long balls to Plata, who held up play for Araujo or Gerson. They also used diagonals to the wide players. In sustained possession, Arrascaeta dropped deeper to overload midfield, forming a 2-4-4 with Pulgar and Jorginho anchoring, and the Flamengo wingers & full backs stretching the pitch.

In truth, Chelsea struggled with Flamengo’s interplay all game. The movement and rapid interchanges, all one and two touch, left Chelsea chasing shadows, and throughout the game, the samba was in full flow.

Flamengo dominated play in the first half, although they couldn’t finish the openings they created, as Chelsea had some breaks. One such lucky break came for the Chelsea goal. After a clearance from defense following a Flamengo set piece, Pedro Neto got lucky with a couple of deflections off the Flamengo covering defenders. The ball broke kindly for Neto after hitting Flamengo defender Wesley and he went through 1 v 1 against Rossi. Neto converted the chance making it 1-0 to Chelsea in the 13th minute.

Meanwhile, in their OOP shape, Chelsea reverted to a 4-1-4-1 mid block, however, Flamengo’s 3-1-6 & their rapid movement & interchanges would test Chelsea & often saw the Blues on the back foot against Flamengo’s attacks and ball progression.

Danger zone losses and High turnovers - Flamengo vs Chelsea #FIFACWC
(via @markstatsbot) pic.twitter.com/2D7IEvo6FP

— Statocaster Gaurav (@statocastgaurav) June 22, 2025

Maresca’s new system backfires

Maresca’s 4-3-3 became a 2-4-2-2 in build-up as the Italian manager looked to build primarily through the flanks and create gaps for Palmer & Enzo in the spaces. However, this played well into Flamengo’s hands. Chelsea looked to play a lot down their right where Gusto and Palmer were but Flamengo pressed in a 4-2-4 in their OOP shape looking to turnover the ball high up the pitch, especially when it went wide to Gusto.

Minute 3’ Chelsea look to build up from the back but Flamengo’s 4-2-4 press leads to a mistake by Sanchez. Sanchez who is pressed by Plata plays the ball to Chalobah who is pressed by Araujo. Chalobah who plays it wide to Gusto. However, Araujo back tracks and creates a 2v1 along with Lucas against Gusto. Gusto plays it Caicedo who is under pressure as well. The ball goes back to Sanchez who then makes a mistake & plays it straight to a Flamengo midfielder.

Additionally, Maresca looked to exploit space in a certain way with his formation. His 4-3-3 became a 2-4-2-2 or 4-2-2-2. This primarily involved Neto and Delap becoming a front two and the pair making diagonal runs away from the Flamengo central defense pair, and Palmer and Enzo occupying the half-space pockets.

In theory, this seemed to be a great idea and a way to playmake and create in-between the lines. However, the Chelsea players couldn’t adapt to it. Palmer was left isolated on the right flank unable to dictate play and influence the game as he usually does as a number 10. Meanwhile, Delap & Neto’s runs were easily thwarted by the Flamengo defense while Enzo couldn’t find time & space in the pockets and often dropped deeper. Also, Chelsea struggled to progress the ball from midfield to play the ball into the spaces higher up the pitch without Romeo Lavia with Reece James, Caicedo and Enzo struggling to progress the ball under pressure from Flamengo.

Maresca’s gameplan vs Flamengo. Neto and Delap make diagonal runs away from the Flamengo center backs as Palmer and Enzo Fernandez look to move into the half spaces. This tactic backfired against Flamengo on the night.

Meanwhile, Flamengo’s midfield pivot of Jorginho and Pulgar shadowed either James and Caicedo or Enzo and Palmer, depending on where Chelsea had the ball, this effectively nullified Maresca’s intended tweak and prevented proper progression from midfield.

Essentially, Maresca chose the wrong game to experiment with this system; he perhaps underestimated Flamengo and his changes in this game were akin to experimentation in a preseason friendly. Chelsea’s players were already jaded from a gruelling season and so they couldn’t adapt effectively to Maresca’s new approach in an important group stage tie in the Club World Cup.

Flamengo hit back & Jackson gets straight red

The first half ended 1-0 to Chelsea despite Flamengo’s dominance, but the second half would see Flamengo convert their chances. Felipe Luis brought on Bruno Henrique for Arrascaeta and that would be the pivotal change of the game.

After a diagonal pass by Gerson found Plata, the Flamengo forward cushioned a header to the back post where Henrique was on hand to tap it in. That levelled the game 1-1, sending the Flamengo fans in the stadium into wild celebration. Shortly after, from a corner, it was a similar story as Henrique this time turned provider. A corner to the back post was headed across the box by Henrique as Danilo this time tapped it in at the Chelsea back stick. Flamengo hit Chelsea with a suckerpunch making it 2-1, sending the Flamengo fans and bench into delirium.

Enzo Maresca responded by bringing on Nicolas Jackson for Liam Delap. However, in a moment of a rush of blood, Jackson on the occasion of his 24th birthday, made a nasty, malicious tackle on Ayrton Lucas, urging the referee to brandish a straight red. It made matters worse for Chelsea who then shifted into a 4-4-1 with ten men.

A late goal from Flamengo substitute Wallace closed the game out for Flamengo making it 3-1 and in truth, after Jackson’s red, the Blues struggled to find a way back into the game.

The game duly ended with the 3-1 scoreline as Maresca’s Blues faltered in their new system against a Flamengo side that was a delight to watch.

Takeaways

Felipe Luis outmanoeuvred Maresca with his flexible 4-2-3-1 system that adapted to Chelsea’s press, exploited their new system & defensive frailties, and capitalised on turnovers. Meanwhile, Maresca’s tactical tinkering proved to be his side’s undoing as the Blues simply couldn’t adapt to it. Chelsea’s woes were compounded by Jackson’s red card and despite being favourites for this game they ended up losing. The victory meant that Flamengo have qualified for the Club World Cup Round of 16 while Chelsea will have to get a favourable result in their final game against Esperance to go through.

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