Mason Mount scored a spectacular goal seven minutes from time to give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Club América in the FC Series at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a game that featured three second-half goals, the two-time Chelsea Player of the Year broke the deadlock following Timo Werner’s opener and Reece James’ own goal.
Chelsea made their first appearance on U.S. soil since 2016 and the first of the FC Series at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Blues controlled the game from the opening minutes with Hakim Ziyech creating a number of early chances. His free kick in the 9th minute beat the América wall but was pushed away by Guillermo Ochoa. Minutes later, Ziyech got on the end of Conor Gallagher’s cross and nudged the ball over an América defender, but his shot was blocked. Bruno Valdez responded with a header for Club América ten minutes later that was punched away by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kenedy nearly put the Blues up twenty-five minutes in when his curler from the right side of the box beat Ochoa to the far post but missed the target by inches. A minute later, América had a similar opportunity when Mauricio Reyes’ shot missed Henry Martín in front before trickling wide. Kai Havertz had the best chance of the half nearly thirty minutes in when he ran onto a Gallagher through ball and found himself clear to goal, but his left-footed bender missed high. Thiago Silva almost gave the Blues the lead four minutes from the break. His header off a Ziyech free kick was pushed over the bar by Óscar Jiménez, who replaced Ochoa mid-way through the first half.
Chelsea made wholesale changes at the half with Michy Batshuayi, Timo Werner, and American captain Christian Pulisic entering as the top three. Mount also came on after the break along with captain César Azpilicueta. Immediately, Chelsea’s high press paid off as they created several chances inside the first five minutes. Pulisic had a shot off a Chelsea counter that was saved by Jiménez, and Jorginho broke free following a steal that was also stopped by the América keeper.
Chelsea opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half through Werner. Jorginho, controlling play for several minutes, found Reece James down the right side behind the América line, and the England defender’s cross met Werner inside the penalty spot. Werner’s first shot was saved by Jiménez, but he buried the rebound to give Chelsea the lead.
América equalized in the 61st minute on a James own goal. With América pressuring Chelsea inside their own penalty area, James received the ball out wide and passed back toward Marcus Bettinelli, but his pass missed the keeper and rolled into the empty net to tie the game at 1-1.
After the goal, América swapped all of their attacking players, bringing on leading scorers Diego Valdes and Jonathan Rodriguez. Despite the fresh legs, Chelsea maintained most of the possession, pushing down the left side a number of times through Marcos Alonso. Emerson found Pulisic inside the box with a well-weighted cross, but Pulisic’s header missed the target. América had a chance to take the lead in the 78th minute when Roman Martinez broke free to goal, but Emerson chased him down from behind to deny the shot.
It was Alonso’s pressure that led to Mount’s winner in the 83rd minute. Another Chelsea attack down the left side ended with Alonso finding Mount at the top of the box. Mount dribbled through one challenge then sent a dipping curler that beat Jiménez to the far corner to give the Blues the lead.
Emerson missed wide two minutes from time to extend Chelsea’s lead, and Valdes sent a free kick high in stoppage time as the yellow smoke from the América fans filled the stadium of 47,273 fans who watched Chelsea see out the 2-1 victory.
Chelsea will be back in action Wednesday July 20th against Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium before playing Arsenal on July 23rd at Camping World Stadium.
Goals:
CHE: Werner 55’
AME: James (OG) 61’
CHE: Mount 83’
Yellow Cards:
AME: Damm 3’
AME: Aquino 26’
CHE: Gallagher 36’
CHE: Werner 90+1’
Lineups
Chelsea:
1st Half: Arrizabalaga, Chalobah, Silva, Sarr, Kenedy, Gallagher, Barkley, Chilwell, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Havertz
2nd Half: Bettinelli, James, Azpilicueta, Ampadu, Emerson, Alonso, Mount, Jorginho, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Werner
Club América: Ochoa (Jiménez 33’), Cáceres, Valdez, Reyes, Sánchez, Fidalgo (R. Martínez 61’), dos Santos (Sánchez 61’), Aquino (S. Martínez 61’), Martín (Rodriguez 61’), Layún (Valdés 61’), Damm (Zendajas 61’)