Esperance suffered a 3-0 loss against Chelsea in the Club World Cup's Group D outing staged at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Wednesday to crash out of the competition.
South Africa international attacker Elias Mokwana got his second start in as many games, with the initial one coming in the 1-0 win over Los Angeles a couple of days ago.
Late first-half strikes dent Esperance's hopes
The West Londoners started the game quite well, winning a corner inside the first three minutes thanks to Noni Madueke's brilliance, but the unmarked Benoit Badiashile headed the ball a fraction wide.
Chelsea's first shot on target came in the 14th minute when Liam Delap tried goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said with a low drive, but the custodian had no problem stopping the ball from finding the back of the net.
In early proceedings, the Red and Yellow gave a good account of themselves but struggled to hit the target, as the Blues ensured they have cleared any danger even before it could reach the custodian.
Delap almost caught Ben Said off guard with his second dhot on target in the 36th minute but the Esperance shot-stopper reacted fastest to clear the danger.
In the 3rd minute of added time in the first half, the English side eventually managed to get their goal. Enzo Fernandez played a good ball from a free kick, and a towering defender, Tosin Adarabioyo, headed it in.
Two minutes later, it was 2-0; Fernandez played a long ball to Delap, who controlled it, got past his marker before finding the back of the net to ensure Chelsea went to the break with a comfortable lead.
Chelsea finish the job after the break
Mokwana, who was ineffective in the first half, was replaced after the pause, with Mohamed Derbali taking his place.
But it was the Blues who, once again, started the second stanza strongly in their bid to get more goals, as Esperance struggled to match the English side in every aspect.
Madueke could have put his name on the scoresheet in the 63rd minute, but he shot just across the face of the goal from a promising position, just moments after wildly shooting way over the bar from about 16 yards out.
Christopher Nkunku thought he would have a chance to add his team's third from the penalty after the Esperance captain Yassine Meriah was adjudged to have handled the ball in the danger zone, but after VAR review, the referee reversed his decision.
It looked like the game would end 2-0, but with a few seconds to go, Tyrique George was given space outside the danger zone. He took his chance and as fate may have it, Ben Said failed to keep it out.
Flamengo, who drew 1-1 with Los Angeles, topped Group D with seven points, one more than the English side. Esperance finished third with three points while the MLS side went home with a point.
