Cole Palmer stars as Chelsea claim stunning Club World Cup victory against PSG

South Wales Guardian

4 days ago

Palmer scored two fine goals and created another for Joao Pedro, all in the first half, as the Premier League side defied huge odds in New York to shock the reigning European champions.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was also outstanding as the Blues, who had been clear underdogs at the MetLife Stadium, secured a jackpot in excess of £90million as the first winners of FIFA's new 32-team tournament.
FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP WINNERS!!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/KnbFOjfqzg
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 13, 2025
PSG lost their discipline in the closing stages and Joao Neves was sent off with five minutes remaining for pulling the hair of Marc Cucurella.
FIFA, the world governing body, had been determined to make the occasion, which was attended by US President Donald Trump, a huge success.
The pre-match programme, which included a performance from Robbie Williams and a US Air Force flyover, overran and led to a kick-off delay – but Chelsea all but had the game wrapped up before Doja Cat appeared at half-time.
It was a remarkable achievement against a PSG side that had been chasing their fifth trophy of a glorious season.
Palmer, the Conference League final match-winner, was at his dazzling best and many in the stadium thought he had opened the scoring after eight minutes when he curled narrowly wide from a Pedro flick.
PSG should have made the most of that reprieve and taken the lead themselves after Fabian Ruiz played in Desire Doue, but he opted to pass instead of shoot and Cucurella cleared.
Doue did get an effort on goal shortly afterwards but Sanchez reacted well.
Palmer took charge of the match after 22 minutes when he placed a left-foot shot perfectly into the bottom corner after Malo Gusto had seen his own attempt blocked.
PSG were left reeling when he repeated the feat just eight minutes later.
This time Palmer created the opportunity himself, latching onto a long ball from Levi Colwill and cutting inside from the right, and the finish was every bit as composed.
He was not finished there either, turning provider before the interval to slip Pedro through on goal.
The Brazilian, who scored twice on his full debut in the semi-final win over Fluminense, showed equally great composure to lift the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Mr Trump said he was 'having a really great time' when interviewed by broadcaster DAZN at half-time and the Chelsea fans in the 81,118 crowd would doubtless have said likewise after such a scintillating display.
PSG rallied but Sanchez kept out a header from Neves and then showed brilliant reflexes to paw away a close-range snap-shot on the turn from Ousmane Dembele.
Liam Delap had a superb effort pushed away by Donnarumma within moments of coming off the Chelsea bench and went close again soon after.
PSG were beaten and frustration was evident as Neves clashed with Cucurella and earned a red card after tugging at the Spaniard's hair.
There were further scuffles after the final whistle as Chelsea's squad and staff poured onto the field to celebrate and PSG manager Luis Enrique was involved in an ugly incident with Pedro.