Chelsea’s route to the FIFA Club World Cup final has been decided, following the conclusion of the tournament’s group stage.Enzo Maresca’s side have qualified to the knockout stages after

An opening round victory over Los Angeles FC set them on the right path but a hugely disappointing and fiery 3–1 defeat to Flamengo in their subsequent outing threatened their place in the last 16. Fortunately, ES Tunis posed little resistance in Chelsea’s final Group D outing, with a 3–0 victory confirming their progression.

Despite failing to win our group, Chelsea managed to end up with a more favorable draw, at least on paper, in the knockout rounds of the Club World Cup, having to play Benfica instead of Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. Of course, Benfica did beat Bayern in their group match, so perhaps the favor won’t prove so favorable in the end.