Chelsea beats PSG in Club World Cup final as managers and players clash after whistle
Palmer scored in the 22nd and 30th minutes and Joao Pedro tacked on the third goal right before half-time, capitalising on Palmer's fine touch into the box. Robert Sanchez, meanwhile, saved six shots in his best showing of the tournament.
Chelsea, who won the 2021 Club World Cup that featured only eight teams, battled past Portugal's Benfica and Brazilian sides Palmeiras and Fluminense in the knockouts to face Paris Saint-Germain — six weeks removed from their first UEFA Champions League trophy.
PSG's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had allowed just one goal in their first six matches of the Cup.
The frustrated Parisians went down to 10 men in the 85th minute when Joao Neves pulled Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella by the hair, was caught on video review and shown red.
Altercations spilled past the final whistle, and PSG coach Luis Enrique appeared to grab at Pedro's neck while he and Donnarumma confronted Chelsea players.
US President Donald Trump presented the trophy to Chelsea after the match, and the player of the tournament award to Palmer.
Cucurella made a crucial stop to keep the game scoreless in the 16th minute. Fabian Ruiz made a great pass across the box to Desire Doue, who could have shot it but instead tried a centring pass to a teammate that Cucurella intercepted.
Six minutes later, Palmer got the scoring started.
Malo Gusto picked up a wayward header from PSG's Nuno Mendes and ran into the box. After creating space, his shot was blocked right back to his feet, so he fed Palmer for a left-footed finish into the bottom left corner.
Levi Colwill earned the assist on the second goal for his long ball downfield to Palmer. From there, Palmer calmly dribbled toward the centre of the 18-yard box and fired the same low strike for an identical goal.
In the 43rd, Palmer tapped a pass between two defenders for Pedro, who popped his shot over a sprawling Donnarumma's right shoulder.
Reuters
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