Chelsea out to stop PSG completing clean sweep in Club World Cup final

Straits Times

2 days ago

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EAST RUTHERFORD – Chelsea must somehow try to stop an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain side from adding the Club World Cup trophy to their Uefa Champions League title, as the final of the first edition of Fifa's expanded competition takes place on July 13.
PSG travelled to the United States fresh from becoming European champions with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich in late May, and they have lived up to their favourites tag at the Club World Cup.
Luis Enrique's side put four goals past Atletico Madrid in the group stage, four more past Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the last 16, and then proved too strong for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
They appeared to hit new heights as they tore apart Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid in the last four, when their 4-0 winning margin could have been far greater.
The Parisians now stand on the verge of an extraordinary achievement, as they look to complete a clean sweep of trophies in this 2024-25 season and add the world title to their French and European crowns.
But Enrique refused to accept that PSG are necessarily overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium.
'This is absolutely not going to be a simple formality,' the Spanish coach insisted.
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'I have analysed Chelsea. They have a great squad. Enzo Maresca is doing a great job and I really like what he is doing. They are a very complete team.'
Desire Doue, one of their standout performers during a remarkable campaign, also said there were no concerns about complacency.
'We are not over-confident, not at all,' the France international told reporters on Friday.
'We have been favourites for most matches in this competition and throughout this season, but what matters is what we do on the pitch (on Sunday).'
Chelsea have plenty of reason to believe they can win too, with the game finally wrapping up a campaign in which they won the Uefa Conference League and also finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League.
While PSG lost to Botafogo during the group stage, the Blues were also beaten by Brazilian opposition in Flamengo. However, they have gone on to defeat Benfica as well as two other Brazilian teams, Palmeiras and Fluminense, to reach the final.
'For sure they (PSG) are a top team in Europe and probably in this moment the best team in the world,' manager Maresca told reporters.
'But I think every game can be different. We have maximum respect for them. I really enjoy watching them but at the same time we are here to do our best and try to win the final.'
PSG's record against English opposition in 2025 shows the size of task facing Chelsea – the French club faced four Premier League teams in the Champions League and beat them all, from Manchester City and Liverpool, to Aston Villa and then Arsenal.
'It is a super high-level game. They are one of the hottest teams in the world at the moment but this is the final, a one-off game,' added Chelsea captain Reece James.
'Everyone has them down as strong favourites but I have been in many finals before where we have been favourites and we have not come out on top. I don't really care that everyone is bigging up the opposition. We are just preparing in the right way and we are going out to win.'
The match brings down the curtain on a month-long competition that Fifa is already hailing as a huge success.
But concerns over the heat of an American summer have plagued the tournament, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez saying that playing in the middle of the afternoon was 'very dangerous' – Sunday's game will kick off at 3pm local time.
Whatever happens in the final, the tournament has already been a huge success for the participants from a financial viewpoint.
Chelsea and PSG are assured to go home with over US$100 million in prize money, with the definitive amount to become clear after the final – that money will be particularly welcome for Chelsea after they were recently fined by Uefa for breaching financial rules. AFP, REUTERS