PHILADELPHIA: Flamengo delivered a potent reminder that the so-called superiority of European teams in club football is fading quickly after the Brazilian outfit beat Chelsea 3-1 in a Club World Cup contest that felt like a home match thousands of miles from Rio.

The Brazilian champions turned Philadelphia`s Lincoln Financial Field into a tropical carnival, with 55,000 passionate supporters creating an atmosphere that was in stark contrast to Chelsea`s casual approach to the tournament.

Just 24 hours after Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said the competition had `a pre-season feeling` to it and that he would rotate key starters throughout the group stage, his side became the second European giants in two days to be humbled by Brazilian opposition.

Friday`s result followed Paris St Germain`s shock 1-0 defeat by Botafogo a day earlier that had ended Europe`s 13-year dominance over South American opposition in intercontinental club football.

Pedro Neto`s opener for Chelsea proved to be a false start as they were given the run around following the interval.

Flamengo, under the tactical guidance of former Blues defender Filipe Luis, responded with a ruthlessness that their theoretically superior rivals could not match.

Bruno Henrique and Danilo struck in quick succession to flip the contest, before Nicolas Jackson`s reckless red card for a studs-up challenge that illustrated Chelsea`s loss of composure paved the way for youngster Wallace Yan to deliver the coup de grace.

`When we conceded the first goal their fans started to be loud, and immediately after we conceded the second one, Chelsea`s Marc Cucurella told DAZN, his words revealing the psychological impact of Flamengo`s thunderous support.

Flamengo have won both matches in Group `D` and theirplace in the knockout stage was confirmed later when Esperance of Tunisia defeated Los Angeles FC 1-0 in Nashville.

Youcef Belaili scored the only goal of the game in the 70th minute in front of a sparse crowd featuring Nicole Kidman.

LAFC, who were last-minute qualifiers after beating Club America of Mexico in a play-off, cannot now progress further.

Chelsea and Esperance each have three points from two games and their meeting in Philadelphia next Tuesday will decide who joins Flamengo in advancing.

`We expected a tough game because Flamengo is a very good team, with good players and a good manager,` said Maresca. `They play very well, and in Brazil they are top of the league, unbeaten for many games, so it was not a surprise for us.

Flamengo manager Filipe Luis said he was extremely proud of his team`s resilience and composure.

`I am very happy with the game. From the start, we always believed we had a chance, Filipe Luis said. `I know the quality of European clubs, especially the elite of football.

`There are 12 clubs in the world that are part of the elite.

I`m surprised by these results.

They are not very used to the [hot and humid] climate. South Americans are very competitive, in the Libertadores it`s very difficult to win, but the best doesn`t always win.

BAYERN RESTORE PRIDE Bayern Munich reignited the flickering flame of European honour at the tournament later on Friday, battling through a tense, fiery showdown to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors and storm into the last 16.

It was the first time either a Brazilian or Argentinian team had lost in 10 matches since the tournament started.

Backed by a roaring sea of blue-and-yellow clad fans who turned the Hard Rock Stadiumin Miami into a noisy outpost of their `Bombonera`, Boca Juniors fought fiercely, but Bayern`s resilience shone throughin the closingstages.

After Harry Kane gave the German champions an early lead, Boca equalised through Miguel Merentiel, only for Michael Olise to score a late winner that lifted Bayern to the top of Group `C` on six points, two ahead of Benfica.

`We have seen how tough it has been for European teams to play against the South American teams. I thought we did really well,` said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

Boca, on one point, remain in contention as they face amateurs Auckland City in the last round of matches while Bayern will take on Benfica.

Earlier, Benfica crushed Auckland City 6-0 in Orlando to boost their own hopes of progressing and eliminate the tournament`s only Oceania representative.

A draw for Benfica against Bayern in Charlotte next Tuesday will send them through and eliminate Boca.

DORTMUND HOLD OFF SUNDOWNS On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund held off a spirited comeback from South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns to secure a 4-3 victory in Cincinnati and move closer to the knockout stages.

Dortmund were behind after 11 minutes at the TQL Stadium but rallied to win their second game in Group `F` and move top of the standings with four points, one more than Sundowns.

Felix Nmecha, Serhou Guirassy and Jobe Bellingham scored for the Bundesliga club who also profited from an own goal.

Lucas Ribeiro had given Sundowns the lead while Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba scoredin the secondhalfasthey looked to rally from 4-1 down in a competitive game played in blazing hot conditions with a midday kickoff.-Agencies