February 10, (THEWILL) – Chelsea will meet South American champions Palmeiras in the FIFA Club World Cup final after a 1-0 semi-final victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal.
Chelsea took the lead on the half-hour mark when Romelu Lukaku scored his first goal in over a month, but the second half belonged to Al-Hilal, and Kepa Arrizabalaga emerged as the hero thanks to two crucial stops that kept the lead alive.
Chelsea, as expected, dominated possession throughout the game. With a spinning early shot, Hakim Ziyech just missed the target, while Lukaku had other chances to score until he finally did.
But Al-Hilal, featuring names and faces familiar to Premier League fans in Odion Ighalo and Matheus Pereira, still posed a threat of their own. Ex-Porto striker Moussa Marega was sniffing around for chances and at one stage fired into the side netting.
Lukaku’s goal was deserved. Kai Havertz did well on the left to keep control of the ball under pressure, playing a cross into the box that Al-Hilal failed to clear. It fell to the Belgian, who could not miss from only a few yards out.
Just before and after halftime, Ziyech and Havertz both had more good chances. Two shots were blocked in rapid succession from Havertz, who hooked the ball onto the post from a tight angle. When Andreas Christensen was wrestled to the ground, Chelsea felt they should have been awarded a penalty, but the referee and VAR officer did nothing.
With the score at 1-0, Marega reminded Chelsea that they were still susceptible when he was passed in, forcing Kepa to make a crucial save. Soon after, as Al-confidence Hilal’s mounted, the Chelsea keeper made an incredible save when Mohamed Kanno blasted a rocket goalward.
Al-Hilal pressed for an equaliser but eventually ran out of steam and Chelsea squeezed through by the slightest of margins.
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.
