Chelsea 3-0 Paris Saint-Germain: Cole Palmer scores twice as Blues claim Club World Cup glory with stunning win
Chelsea win the Club World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium; Cole Palmer scored twice then set up the third goal for Joao Pedro; Paris Saint-Germain had Joao Neves sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair
Chelsea claimed Club World Cup glory as Cole Palmer inspired a stunning 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey.
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain were strong favourites, having thrashed Real Madrid in the semi-finals, but Chelsea scored three times in a clinical first-half display to earn the title of world champions to follow their Conference League win.
Palmer had a hand in all three goals, scoring the first from Malo Gusto’s cut-back with a superb, low finish and adding the second with a near-identical strike only eight minutes later.
He then played in new signing Joao Pedro, who followed up his two-goal performance against Fluminense with a cool finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma as Paris Saint-Germain, who had Joao Neves sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair late on, were left stunned.
The victory, in front of watching US president Donald Trump, sees Chelsea bank around £100m in prize money from what was the first edition of the competition in its expanded, 32-team format
Paris Saint-Germain came into the game hoping to complete a quadruple, six weeks after thrashing Inter 5-0 in the Champions League final, but could not handle Chelsea’s intensity as Enzo Maresca’s side ruthlessly targeted their left flank.
In a showpiece fixture which featured glitzy pre-match build-up, a fighter-jet fly-past and a lengthy half-time show which extended the interval to 24 minutes, breaching IFAB regulations, Chelsea looked sharper and more dangerous from the start.
After their first-half flurry of goals, they could have extended their lead late in the second when substitute Liam Delap forced two saves from Donnarumma. At the other end, Robert Sanchez also produced some fine stops but the result never looked in doubt, despite the pre-match odds heavily favouring Chelsea’s opponents.
Paris Saint-Germain’s frustration boiled over, first with the Neves red card, awarded after the referee was sent to the monitor, and then when a brawl broke out between the players after the final whistle.
Once the commotion died down, though, it was time for Chelsea’s fans and players to celebrate a triumphant end to an epic season.
Palmer: We proved our doubters wrong
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer said the victory was made all the sweeter by people writing off their chances in the build-up.
“Obviously it’s a great feeling,” he said on DAZN. “Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game.
But to go out there and put a fight on like we did against a great team, it’s good.
“I like finals and it happened again,” he said of his goal, a year, almost to the day, after scoring in the Euro 2024 final.
“The gaffer put a great game plan out. He knew where the space was going to be. I just had to repay him and score some goals.
“He’s building something special. Something important. I feel like we are going in the right direction.”
Maresca: We won the game in the first 10 minutes
Head coach Enzo Maresca said Chelsea had the game won inside the first 10 minutes, despite their opener not arriving until the 22nd minute, and saluted the efforts of his players as he looked forward to a holiday.
“No words for the players,” he said on DAZN. “They deserve it. It’s a good moment.
“For me we won the game in the first ten minutes. In the first ten minutes we set the tempo for the way we want to play. We were very good.
“Unfortunately with the weather conditions it is not easy to do for 90 minutes, but I think we won the game in the first ten minutes.”
On Palmer’s player-of-the-match performance, he said: “Today we found a position for him where there was space to attack.
“I’m happy for Cole but the effort from all the players has been fantastic.”
“Our future is very exciting, but I’m more excited for three weeks off!”
Analysis: Chelsea defy the odds to become world champions
They think it’s all over… it is now. The longest season in Chelsea’s history is finally over and Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a more incredible ending. Like it or not – and a lot of people don’t – Chelsea can call themselves FIFA Club World champions for the next four years.
Are they the best team in the world? Probably not. Do they care what anyone else thinks? Definitely not.
They defied the odds here at MetLife Stadium by outplaying and outfighting – almost literally at one stage – the mighty Paris Saint-Germain.
Cole Palmer – who else – was the star of the show. The man of few words scored two goals and set up a third for Joao Pedro.
Palmer will be one of the stars of the World Cup next summer and England will benefit hugely from what he has learned and experienced in the US over the past four weeks.
This tournament was supposed to be about Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Harry Kane. Instead, it ended up being about Palmer and Chelsea – and Donald Trump.
The glitzy final had Tom Brady, Robbie Williams, Coldplay and the President of the United States, who in characteristic fashion, took centre stage for the trophy presentation.
The whole occasion was slightly surreal. The sun was shining, the stadium was packed, the football was high quality and FIFA president Gianni Infantino looked like the happiest man in the world. Here he was sitting next to the most powerful man in the world watching his Club World Cup dream come true.
The tournament has been controversial for a long list of reasons but Chelsea don’t care about that at all. This win has put Chelsea back on the map again. It has made Chelsea great again.
What now for Chelsea?
Chelsea will return to London to begin their pre-season preparations ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
They start their campaign by hosting Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday August 17, live on Sky Sports.
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