Chelsea kicked off their Club World Cup journey with a 2-0 win over LAFC in Atlanta, with Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez finding the back of the net in a stadium that was only filled to less than a third of its capacity.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which can hold 71,000 spectators, had 22,137 fans present, leaving the upper tier completely empty as Chelsea secured three points under the management of Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea had previously played in front of over 70,000 fans at the same venue in a match against Newcastle a couple of years ago, but this time around, there were plenty of unoccupied seats as the team claimed victory.
Neto scored the opening goal for Chelsea just after the 30-minute mark, giving them a deserved lead going into half-time break.
Chelsea had to work hard for their second goal, with summer signing Liam Delap coming on in the second half and assisting Fernandez for the clinching goal 11 minutes before the final whistle.
Hugo Lloris, the former Tottenham goalkeeper, was called into action early on to deny a shot from Nicolas Jackson, who managed to get a shot on target from a tight angle inside the box.
Chelsea dominated possession and pushed LAFC back towards their own goal. Noni Madueke had a chance saved by Lloris after a good pass from Jackson.
Neto broke the deadlock in the 34th minute after a lovely pass from Jackson, finding the bottom corner with a well-placed shot after getting past the opposition's defense.
LAFC struggled to create opportunities in the first half, but a cross from Denis Bouanga troubled Robert Sanchez, who deflected it behind for a corner.
Despite Chelsea's dominance, LAFC continued to fight, with substitute David Martinez forcing a save from Sanchez with a curling shot that was inadvertently blocked by Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea came close to doubling their lead as Neto's cross found Jackson, whose header was cleared off the line by Timothy Tillman.
New signing Delap made his Chelsea debut in the 63rd minute and was lively, almost setting up another goal with some skillful play, but LAFC's defense managed to intercept the pass.
In the 79th minute, Chelsea secured their victory as Delap provided an assist to Fernandez, who tapped the ball into the net to ensure a comfortable win for the English side.