The Blues defeated Saudi team Al Hilal 1-0 in the Club World Cup semi-finals. The only goal in that match was scored by Romelu Lukaku. Palmeiras, in turn, defeated Al-Ahly of Egypt 2-0.
As a result, the Brazilian national team met its London counterpart in the final of the Club World Cup. Before the match started, players representing the club from the capital of England were the obvious favourites.
The first half was not exciting, and there were no good positions for the goals. The blue team imposed the conditions of the field, but they could not find an idea to deceive the opponent’s defense. In the end, they managed to make two shots on goal, but they did not end with a successful strike.
We had to wait for the first goal until the 55th minute, when Romelu Lukaku entered the list of shooters who benefited greatly from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s play. It looked as if the London side would be in complete control of the match from then on, but ten minutes later it was 1-1 after Rafael Feige’s goal.
Until the end of the match, neither team was able to break the opponent’s defense, which meant the appearance of extra time for the club’s new world champion. Only at its end, Chelsea faced a huge opportunity. The referee imposed a penalty for a handball into the Palmeiras penalty area, and Kai Havertz was sure to score.
Thus, the German won the first world club championship in Chelsea’s history. At the end of the match, Palmeiras had to deal with a weakening, because Luan was sent off the field due to a severe foul on Havertz. Thomas Tuchel’s players may be satisfied, but the 120 minutes will certainly affect the squad’s strength in the upcoming matches later in the season, which is a problem as the Blues play in the Champions League in the middle of the week. Now, however, fans certainly won’t worry about that.
Chelsea – Palmeiras 2:1 (0:0)
Objectives: Romelu Lukaku (55), Kai Havertz (117-pen) – Rafael Vega (64)
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