Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca rounded on FIFA after his side's opening Club World Cup match was played in front of just 22,137 fans. The Blues faced Los Angeles FC on Monday night in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The ground, the home of the city's NFL team the Falcons, has a 71,000 capacity. But just 22,137 people turned up to watch Chelsea beat their MLS opponents, meaning the stadium was less than a third full. It was an embarrassing moment for all concerned, but particularly FIFA, who have poured money into the revamped Club World Cup. The organisers failed to drop ticket prices for Monday's game, which kicked off at 3pm Eastern Time. The stadium had been nearly empty just one hour before the game got underway. Fans who bought tickets for the lowest price were due to be housed in the very upper tier of the stadium. But they were moved down to the lower bowl in a bid to negate the low ticket sales. Even so those in attendance were vastly outnumbered by empty red seats, leaving Blues boss Maresca unimpressed. “It was a good match, a good performance,” Maresca said. “I think the environment was a bit strange. You know, the stadium was almost empty. Not full. We prepared for this game also thinking that the environment was a bit different. “But no doubt that the next one will be a nice one because we know that the Brazilian team, they always bring many, many fans. So we will try to be ready for the next one. We are professional and have to adapt to any situation or environment. "What’s important is the behaviour of the players, the attitude, and once again today, they showed how professional they are and the desire they have, because it was important to win today and also not to concede a goal. "We finished the Premier League season and Conference League very strong defensively, without conceding many goals. Today we continued that and we want to stay with this attitude." Chelsea will next face Brazilian giants Flamengo in Philadelphia, a game that is due to be played at Lincoln Financial Field, another NFL stadium. According to The Athletic, FIFA staff members had urged the organisers to play more games in MLS stadiums. They typically do not hold more than 30,000 fans. But those staff members were overruled by senior officials, led by president Gianni Infantino, who has now been left humiliated having previously insisted he had no concerns over attendance levels. He said in December: “This competition will have two, three, four million fans coming to the US, but those who stay at home — wherever they are at home and whichever club they support — they will have the opportunity, again for the first time in history, to watch every game of their team or of any other team for free on TV." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.