Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in final to win Club World Cup
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
an hour ago
- Dubai Eye
Modric joins Milan in one-year deal
Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday. The 39-year-old midfielder's arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month. Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, Milan said in a statement. Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles. He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals. "It's a bitter end... he's a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He'll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today," Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match. Modric, considered Croatia's greatest player of all time, has represented the country 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time. He also won the Ballon d'Or the same year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007. Modric's arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month. Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
Khaleej Times
12 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump pays homage to legends, met with boos, cheers from Club World Cup crowd
US President Donald Trump paid homage to soccer great Pele after being met with boos and cheers from the crowd at the Club World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Chelsea walloped Paris St Germain 3-0 to close out the newly expanded version of the tournament, designed as a glittering curtain-raiser for the 2026 World Cup that the US will co-host with Mexico and Canada. Trump was seated next to Fifa boss Gianni Infantino in box seats at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where fans booed him when he appeared briefly on the jumbotron during the US national anthem. He was on his feet in the same VIP suite after Chelsea completed their thrashing of Paris St Germain, pumping his fist as congratulatory music blared. Trump was met with boos from the crowd again as he posed with the match referees on the pitch during the trophy ceremony, as organisers kept the music pumping in the stadium. He handed Chelsea their trophy and stood in the middle of the players for their team photo and celebration. "I knew he was going to be there but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy so I was a bit confused," said Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who scored two goals during the match. Asked in a TV interview who he believed was soccer's "GOAT," Trump named Brazilian icon Pele, who helped spark interest in the sport in the US in his brief time playing for the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League in 1975. "I came to watch Pele, and he was fantastic," Trump told broadcaster DAZN. "That's like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great." Trump has embraced sport's super-sized spotlight during his second term, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February. In May, he announced DC as the host for the 2027 NFL Draft from the Oval Office. He regularly attends UFC and has said he wants to host such fights at the White House next year. Fifa announced last week that it had opened an office in New York's Trump Tower ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico. A record 48 national teams are set to take part. Trump's appearance at MetLife came a day after he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union, an escalation of a trade war that has angered U.S. allies and rattled investors.
Khaleej Times
13 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Chelsea boss Maresca hails 'great triumph' in winning Club World Cup
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca insisted winning the Club World Cup meant as much as winning the Champions League after his side beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the first edition of FIFA's new competition on Sunday. "I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important than, the Champions League," said Maresca after adding the trophy to the Uefa Conference League title his team won in May. Maresca only took over at Chelsea a year ago but was previously on the coaching staff under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when they won the Champions League in 2023. "I was lucky to be on the coaching staff of a team that won the Champions League a few years ago, but this competition features the best teams in the world and I think we can value it on the same level," said the Italian. "It is a great triumph for us and it will allow the Chelsea fans to have that on our shirt for the next four years, so it is a source of pride." Maresca said he instructed his players to go out and take the game to PSG from the off -- they went on to net all three goals in the first half with Cole Palmer netting a brace before Joao Pedro added his name to the scoresheet. "The message was to let them understand that we were here to win the game and I think in the first 10 minutes we showed them that," Maresca said. "That set the tone of the game, and then the quality of the players was also important." England international Palmer was named player of the match after bagging a brace and setting up Joao Pedro's goal. The 23-year-old therefore lived up to his superstar billing -- his face has appeared on billboards around New York advertising the tournament, alongside the likes of Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. "To score the goals was a great feeling, as was the way the team showed fire out there -- the gaffer's game plan was spot on," he said. "I just try to do my job every time I go onto the pitch and hopefully I will continue. "I have seen the billboards in Times Square and outside Madison Square Garden and it is obviously a nice feeling to be alongside those players," he added.
