Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain to win Club World Cup
East Rutherford (Reuters)Cole Palmer rang up two goals and one assist in a sensational first half and Chelsea toppled Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday.Palmer scored in the 22nd and 30th minutes and Joao Pedro tacked on the third goal right before halftime, 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 Gianluigi Donnarumma made two saves on five shots on goal. The European champions 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.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 centering pass to a teammate that Cucurella intercepted.Six minutes later, Palmer -- whose first attempt barely missed wide left in the eighth -- got the scoring started.Malo Gusto picked up a wayward header from PSG's Nuno Mendes and ran into the box. After a fancy dribble to create space, his shot was blocked right back to his feet, so he fed Palmer for a left-footer to 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 center of the 18-yard line and fired the same low, left-footer 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.
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The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Chelsea hit prize money jackpot after winning Fifa Club World Cup
Chelsea had more than one reason to celebrate on Sunday as they thrashed tournament favourites Paris Saint-Germain to win the expanded Fifa Club World Cup. Cole Palmer notched two goals and one assist in a sensational first half as Chelsea beat European champions PSG 3-0 in the final at the MetLife Stadium. The 23-year-old winger scored in the 22nd and 30th minutes and Joao Pedro secured the third goal right before half time, capitalising on Palmer's fine touch into the box. At the other end of the pitch, Robert Sanchez saved six shots in his best showing of the tournament. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca praised Palmer's ability to rise to the occasion after the England international was named player of the tournament. 'These are the games we expect Cole Palmer to appear and once again he showed what he is made of,' Maresca said. Chelsea hit jackpot The Premier League side can be proud of their performance against a side Maresca described before the match as 'probably the best team in the world'. It capped a fruitful season for Chelsea who came to the United States fresh from finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the Uefa Conference League. There was another major factor fuelling Chelsea, and other teams, at the 32-team Club World Cup. Fifa had announced the biggest ever prize pool of $1 billion, which was bigger than the one for the previous Fifa World Cup. Teams were handed substantial participation fees in addition to a share of the prize money at each stage of the tournament. Tournament winners Chelsea took home the biggest slice of the prize fund, earning a little more than $114 million. According to the BBC and football finance website The Swiss Ramble, Chelsea were given an appearance fee of $28.7m. Apart from that, Chelsea received $85.625m for their results in the tournament. That adds up out to $114.325m. Breakdown of Chelsea's prize money Group stage ($2m per win) – $4m Last 16 – $7.5m Quarter-final – $13.125m Semi-final – $21m Final win – $40m Other top European clubs in the tournament such as finalists PSG ($105m) and Real Madrid (89m) received substantial financial boosts, which is likely to impact the transfer market. Sour end to tournament All was not well at the end of it all, however. Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he was 'just trying to separate the players' after being caught up in a scuffle on the pitch at the end of his team's defeat to Chelsea. Television footage showed the PSG boss raising his arm to the neck of Joao Pedro, who had earlier scored Chelsea's third goal. 'There was pushing and shoving, a lot of tension and pressure. The situation obviously should have been avoided,' Luis Enrique told reporters. 'My intention was clearly to just try to separate the players.' Defeat for PSG denied them what would have been a stunning clean sweep of trophies as they failed to add the Club World Cup to the Uefa Champions League and French league-and-cup double. 'I think over the course of the game they deserved their win. They played very well,' Luis Enrique said of Chelsea. 'I said beforehand that Chelsea were a very good team and they deserve their victory and the trophy.'
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in final to win Club World Cup
Cole Palmer scored two goals and made another as Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup on Sunday, beating the European champions 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium to win the first edition of FIFA's new competition. PSG were the favourites for a game attended by Donald Trump after coming to the United States fresh from winning the UEFA Champions League and having destroyed Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals. But having been three goals ahead midway through the first half in the semis, this time the roles were reversed as PSG found themselves 3-0 down by the break. Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes. A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball. It was a scoreline that few could have predicted as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season -- they are the first ever winners of the 32-team Club World Cup having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League. They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it. For PSG, meanwhile, the financial rewards are similar but there will be genuine disappointment at falling short of adding this title to their Champions League triumph and French league and cup double. Nevertheless, conquering Europe was always the main aim this season for Luis Enrique's team, who now have exactly a month to digest this and take a holiday before returning to action in the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur. There was a real sense of occasion at the MetLife Stadium, with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and with President Trump in attendance along with First Lady Melania Trump in a crowd of 81,118. There was even the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA tournament, adding a Super Bowl feel to a final played at the home of NFL sides the New York Giants and New York Jets. As for the football, for the second time in six weeks PSG found themselves involved in a final that quickly turned into a one-sided affair. The club claimed a historic 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but here they were ripped apart by Chelsea on another hot afternoon. Palmer almost put Chelsea ahead inside the opening 10 minutes, before PSG should have scored at the other end only for Desire Doue to try to pass to Achraf Hakimi rather than shoot inside the box, allowing Cucurella to block. It was Chelsea who struck in the 22nd minute as Malo Gusto got the better of Nuno Mendes down the right before seeing his shot blocked by Lucas Beraldo. The ball came back to Gusto and he teed up Palmer to finish into the bottom-left corner. Palmer has been the face of Chelsea on billboards in the United States during the tournament and he lived up to his star billing by scoring again on the half-hour. Released on the right with PSG left-back Mendes out of position, Palmer advanced towards the box before stroking a low shot into the same corner. Joao Pedro played a part in the build-up to that goal and the Brazilian, signed during the tournament from Brighton, then got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-0. Scorer of both goals against Fluminense in the semi-finals, he clipped a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma after being supplied by Palmer. PSG had conceded a single goal in their previous eight matches and they never really looked like producing a comeback, even if Neves headed just wide in first-half stoppage time. Substitute Liam Delap almost got a fourth for Chelsea midway through the second half, before Neves was shown red to complete a bad day for PSG. Agence France-Presse
The National
6 hours ago
- The National
Chelsea share stage with Donald Trump after winning Club World Cup final
Chelsea were crowned Club World Cup champions on Sunday after a dominant 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in a final that blended footballing excellence with political theatre at MetLife Stadium in New York. Cole Palmer struck twice and set up another in a scintillating first half that left PSG reeling. Yet it was the post-match scenes that ensured the night would live long in the memory. As Chelsea captain Reece James stepped up to the podium to collect the trophy, US President Donald Trump joined the squad on stage alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Trump, who had been met with a mixture of cheers and boos from the 81,000-strong crowd, handed over the trophy before awkwardly lingering next to James as the celebrations kicked off. 'They told me he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage,' said James. 'I thought he was going to leave, but he wanted to stay.' Palmer, who was named the tournament's best player and awarded the Golden Ball, admitted he had not expected Trump to remain on the podium. 'I knew he was going to be here, but not that he'd be standing next to us when we lifted it,' said the midfielder. 'I was a bit confused, to be honest.' Chelsea's triumph marked the culmination of Fifa's newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup. In addition to the silverware, the Blues pocketed more than £90 million in prize money – a significant boost for the London club's coffers. 'This is a proud moment for the club,' said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. 'The lads were immense tonight, especially in the first half. Palmer was unbelievable.' Trump, interviewed at half time by DAZN, called the event 'tremendous' and praised the 'energy' of the crowd. He was also asked if he could see a day when the USA, which will co-host the men's World Cup along with Canada and Mexico next summer, could dominate in football, and he replied: 'I can tell you we're doing very well on the other stage, on the political stage, on the final stage. 'We were doing very badly as a country. We had an incompetent administration and now we have a hot country. It's really hot and I think the soccer is going to be very hot here too.' He even joked that he could sign an executive order to rename the sport from 'soccer' to 'football'. 'I think we could do that,' he said with a smile. But the night wasn't without its flashpoints. Tempers boiled over in the closing stages and spilled into post-match tensions between players and coaching staff. A scuffle erupted after full-time involving PSG coach Luis Enrique and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who appeared to shove Chelsea forward Joao Pedro following a heated exchange. 'There is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure,' said Enrique. 'I tried to separate the players and avoid something worse.' Joao Pedro, who was pushed to the ground during the altercation, said he had stepped in to defend teammate Andrey Santos. 'They surrounded him, and like a good Brazilian, I went to protect a friend. They just don't know how to lose.' Maresca said he wasn't aware of how the fracas started. 'I saw that something was going on, but I don't know what happened,' he said. The match itself was largely one-sided. Palmer opened the scoring early before doubling Chelsea's lead with a smart finish. His assist for Joao Pedro capped off a first half that left PSG stunned and eventually saw Joao Neves sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair. Despite a flurry of yellow cards and late PSG frustration, the result never looked in doubt. For Chelsea, it was a statement performance – and one that ended with their name on the trophy and the president of the United States inadvertently part of the photo.
