Chelsea beat Palmeiras and advance to semi-finals

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Palmeiras fought with everything they had, but couldn't stay alive in the Club World Cup. On Friday, in Philadelphia, Abel Ferreira's team faced Chelsea, fell behind, managed to muster the strength to equalize, but were punished in the final minutes: 2-1.
With this result, the Verdão says goodbye to the competition and sees the Blues advance to the semifinals to face another Brazilian team: Fluminense, who dispatched Al Hilal in Orlando.
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Blues Superiority
Chelsea took the initiative from the first minute and gave little room to Palmeiras in Philadelphia. Just five minutes in, Cole Palmer received the ball at the edge of the area, pulled it onto his right foot and struck hard, only to be stopped by a good save from Weverton.
Shortly after, the London pressure took effect. In another good move on the right, Chalobah advanced with space and passed to Palmer, who turned well at the edge of the area, shook off the marking and finished neatly into the corner, leaving the goalkeeper no chance.
After the goal, the Blues continued to control the game, dominated the opponent's half and only failed to extend their lead due to a lack of precision in finishing.
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On the other side, Abel Ferreira's team took a while to get into the game, and with Estevão heavily marked, they only managed to find some balance in the final minutes of the first half. At 41 minutes, Vanderlan had Palmeiras' main chance, but Robert Sánchez saved comfortably.
London Efficiency
After the break, Abel Ferreira made the necessary adjustments and Palmeiras was transformed in the second half. So much so that, just eight minutes in, the Verdão equalized.
After a good sequence on the right, Richard Ríos attacked the space and passed nicely to young Estevão, who faced the marking of Colwill and, even from a tight angle, struck beautifully into the net. The ball even hit the crossbar before going in.
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In response to the conceded goal, Enzo Maresca reacted quickly and brought on João Pedro, newly arrived from Brighton, and also fielded Madueke, looking to create more offensive volume for the English side.
On the other side, Abel Ferreira bet on his talisman: Paulinho, who came on to add depth on the left side of the Verdão attack. As expected, the game opened up with good spaces for both sides.
Then at 83 minutes, after a short corner on the left, Malo Gusto received near the baseline and attempted a cross. The ball deflected off Giay in the middle and deceived Weverton, who couldn't make the save: 2-1.
In the final minutes, Palmeiras went all out and almost saw their deficit increase. João Pedro and Madueke flirted with the third goal, but Weverton prevented it. End of the line and Chelsea qualified for the semifinals of the Club World Cup.