 3-0 to clinch the FIFA Club World Cup title in style on Sunday night.){kind=link}
Cole Palmer delivered a breathtaking first-half performance, scoring twice and setting up another as Chelsea thumped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0 to clinch the FIFA Club World Cup title in style on Sunday night.
After the first whistle, it didn’t take long for Chelsea to find their groove, and at the heart of it all was Palmer. After coming close in the eighth minute, he made sure his next chance counted.
In the 22nd minute, Malo Gusto’s persistence paid off. After a clever run into the box and a blocked shot, the ball fell kindly to Palmer, who coolly slotted it into the bottom corner with his left foot.
Just eight minutes later, Palmer struck again. This time, it was all him. Levi Colwill launched a long ball, and Palmer took it in stride, danced across the penalty area, and unleashed another low finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Pedro Joins the Party
With PSG on the ropes, Palmer wasn’t done yet. In the 43rd minute, he sliced through their defence with a delicious through ball to Joao Pedro, who cheekily chipped it over a diving Donnarumma to make it 3-0 before half-time.
That was the knockout punch. PSG, despite their star power and recently crowned UEFA Champions League status, never recovered.
While Palmer stole headlines, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez quietly turned in a heroic shift. With six vital saves, including a diving stop from a Joao Neves header in stoppage time, Sanchez made sure the clean sheet stayed intact.
It was, by far, his best performance of the tournament.
And it wasn’t just the keeper holding the fort. Marc Cucurella made a crucial interception in the 16th minute, cutting off a dangerous PSG move and helping Chelsea settle into control early on.
PSG’s Collapse
PSG looked nothing like the side that had stormed through the tournament, conceding just one goal in six matches before this final.
Defensively, they were shaky. Offensively, they were disjointed. And when frustration boiled over in the 85th minute, Joao Neves saw red for pulling Cucurella by the hair after a VAR review.
Things got even uglier after the final whistle, with head coach Luis Enrique and goalkeeper Donnarumma confronting Chelsea players in a heated exchange. At one point, Enrique appeared to grab Joao Pedro by the neck, an unsightly end to a night PSG will want to forget.
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