Enzo Maresca’s side booked their place in Sunday’s final with a 2–0 victory over the Brazilian club and will now face either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in the tournament’s showpiece. ..Continue Reading
It was a memorable evening for new signing João Pedro, who scored twice—once in each half—to secure a comfortable win in the sweltering New Jersey heat.
With kickoff at 3 p.m. local time, temperatures soared above 30°C, prompting two cooling breaks during the match.
Tensions rose in the second half when Palmer clashed with Jackson, who had come off the bench and chose to shoot rather than pass to Palmer, who was unmarked in front of goal.
Jackson’s shot from inside the box hit the side netting, prompting an angry reaction from Palmer, who shouted at his teammate and kicked the goalpost in frustration.
Palmer, who had been relatively quiet throughout the match, later had a chance of his own, but his long-range effort was blocked by a Fluminense defender.
The England international will be eager to make a bigger impact in the final as Chelsea aim to lift the Club World Cup trophy.
Despite the heated exchange between his players, Maresca praised the team’s performance after the match, saying he was “very proud” of their progress in the competition so far.
He said: “We are very happy and very proud to play the final. The reason why is that this is the Club World Cup, the best clubs in the world are here. So for us to be there [in the final] on Sunday is something we have to be proud and happy about.”
On the performance, he added: “We started one way, they changed a little bit, so we adjusted immediately. The players dealt with all the conditions – the weather and other things – in a brilliant way. In some moments, we were able to maintain a high tempo; it was not possible to maintain for 95 minutes because of the weather. But they handled it in a fantastic way.”
The only disappointing part of the evening for Chelsea was an injury picked up by Moises Caicedo, who went down hurt under a challenge late on. Issuing an update on the Ecuadorian international, Maresca added: “Moi, twisted his ankle.
“When it happened, I told him, because there were just two or three minutes to go, that we could finish with 10 players. It’s important that we don’t get too worked up because we have a game on Sunday. He said he would try, but he felt pain. So, hopefully, he can be fit for Sunday.”
