Whatever Georgia had on her mind, Chelsea’s Club World Cup opener it was not, with a curious spectacle unfolding in front of a sparse crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Only 22,137 supporters turned up at the 75,000-capacity arena, with the Monday 3pm kick-off time and $50 price to watch the Premier League visitors not convincing too many to play hooky from work. There could be no sugarcoating this one. It was less than ideal for FIFA, especially given Atlanta United boast the best average attendances in the MLS at 44,000 per game, and a brutal look for a competition which cost DAZN around $1billion to secure the broadcasting rights.