February 12, (THEWILL) –
Chelsea won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, after defeating a tenacious Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time of the final match.
The Blues had to work hard for the last trophy that had eluded them during the Roman Abramovich era, but they came out victorious in Abu Dhabi this time around.
Palmeiras missed a golden opportunity to take the lead midway through the first half when Andreas Christensen made a mistake and Dudu shot just wide of goal. Chelsea had limited chances in the first half, with substitute Christian Pulisic curling a free-kick over the bar and Thiago Silva’s long-range shot being pushed wide by Weverton.
The Blues found a way through in the early stages of the second half, despite not being at their best, as Romelu Lukaku rose highest to nod in Callum Hudson-wonderful Odoi’s delivery. Chelsea seemed to spring into action after that goal, as their attacking play began to fall into place. Pulisic did a good job of avoiding Danilo, but his shot was barely wide.
Soon after, a VAR examination revealed Silva handled the ball in the area while going up for a header, allowing Palmeiras to pull level. Raphael Vega made no mistake as he sent Edouard Mendy the wrong way to tie the game at 1-1.
Palmeiras fought back for the remainder of the 90 minutes, forcing the final to go to extra time.
Malang Sarr, who came on as a substitute, sent a long-range effort wide before Pulisic’s deflected effort hit the crossbar, though replays revealed Timo Werner was offside while receiving the ball to cross for the American, so any goal would have been disallowed.
The referee initially denied Chelsea’s protestations for a late penalty for a handball by Luan, but the judgement was overturned after a VAR review. Kai Havertz stepped up to the plate and converted a spot kick to put the Blues back in ahead.
Luan was subsequently sent off in the dying minutes of stoppage time after another VAR check for a professional foul on Havertz, and Chelsea went on to win the club World Cup.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
