Fluminense 0 Chelsea 2: Two Joao Pedro wondergoals seal final spot, but should Flu have had penalty?
The Brazilian, who started his career with Fluminense before moving to Britain, scored with a brilliant finish from outside the area in the first half and then calmed his celebration against his former club. That finish was followed by a thumping second-half goal to secure a final against Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.
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Fluminense were unlucky in the first half as Marc Cucurella made a goalline clearance to keep Chelsea's lead in tact before Fluminense felt they should have had a penalty when the ball struck Trevoh Chalobah's hand. Though the referee initially awarded the spot-kick, after viewing the monitor, the decision was overturned.
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain meet in the other semi-final on Wednesday.
Here, Oli Kay, Mark Carey and Anantaajith Raghuraman break down the action.
It was an obvious narrative to keep an eye on.
After an impressive cameo against Palmeiras in his first appearance for Chelsea, Joao Pedro was rewarded with his first start for Enzo Maresca's side, leading the line ahead of Nicolas Jackson — with Liam Delap unable to play through suspension. Having only joined the club a matter of days ago in a deal in excess of £50million ($68.5m), Pedro was thrust into the action sooner than many might have expected.
He could hardly have asked for a better starting debut, with a sumptuous finish to give Chelsea the lead after 17 minutes.
After some tenacious work down the left side, Pedro Neto's cross was cleared by Thiago Silva — falling perfectly to the 23-year-old. With two excellent touches to get the ball out of his feet, his beautiful effort curled into the far corner to nestle into the side of the net.A first goal for his new club, scored against his former club.
You thought that was good? Pedro thought it a good idea to play 'goal of the tournament' with himself, following up his first strike with an emphatic finish during a Chelsea counter-attack — cutting inside from the left channel to thump the ball in off the crossbar and put Chelsea out of sight.
'I think Joao can play in all the attacking positions for us,' Maresca said ahead of the game.
'He can play wide, he can play side to pitch, he can play as a line. The difference with Nico is just that I see Nico just as a No.9, while I see Joao in different positions.
Pedro's all-round game was equally impressive — occasionally coming short to link the play but also going long when the game needed to be stretched. There were even some flicks in the first half as Pedro was keen stop showcase his skills to his new fans.
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They didn't all come off, but it showed how much confidence was oozing out of the Brazilian internationalA crucial defensive header at the back post showed that Pedro was also willing to engage in the gritty, agricultural side of the game for his team.
Sixty minutes was all he needed after he was replaced by Jackson but if he can maintain those performances consistently next season, Maresca will unequivcally find a place for him in the team —wherever that may be on the pitch.
Mark Carey
Fluminense were convinced they should have had a penalty in the 34th minute. The sudden uproar around the Metlife Stadium suggested their fans did too.
Joao Pedro lunged at Ignacio to give away a free-kick on Fluminense's left flank. Rene whipped a cross in that was ever so slightly flicked on by Thiago Santos and struck Trevoh Chalobah's hand.
Referee Francois Letexier immediately pointed to the spot amid frantic Fluminense appeals. But 45 seconds later, following a conversation on his earpiece and amid protests from Chelsea, Letexier jogged over to the pitchside monitor on the other side to take a look for himself.
Chalobah's hand was by his side as the ball struck it.
While these have been given as penalties previously, Letexier announced, 'After review, handball committed by No 23, the hand is in a normal, natural position. This is not punishable… No penalty' — to Fluminense's despair and Chelsea's relief.
Handballs like these tend can go either way and Maresca's side notably had a similar penalty denied in their group-phase win over Esperance de Tunis.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Brazil's four-pronged mission to win the Club World Cup is over: Botafogo and Flamengo knocked out in the round of 16 by Palmeiras and Bayern Munich respectively; Palmeiras beaten by Chelsea in the quarter-final; Fluminense finally meeting their match against Chelsea in the semi-final.
Fluminense had no answer to the quality of Joao Pedro in particular, but it has been an uplifting experience for Renato Gaucho's team and their supporters — not to mention a tremendously lucrative one for the club, who will earn around $60m in prize money for reaching the semi-final.
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Ultimately, the financial muscle of the leading European teams has held sway in this tournament; how different might it be for a club like Fluminense if they were able to keep hold of players such as Joao Pedro, rather than sell them as soon as the first big offers from Europe arrive. Will that change with the money they and others have earned from this tournament? The consensus among the Brazilian media is that it will not.
Several Fluminense players have put themselves in the shop window over the past few weeks: among them Colombia winger Jhon Arias and midfielder Hercules. Arias has had an excellent tournament, but he made less of an impact against Chelsea and an obdurate full-back in Marc Cucurella
It is beyond question, though, that the Brazilian teams and their supporters have made their mark at the Club World Cup. Their enthusiasm for the competition — for any opportunity to prove themselves against Europe's finest — has been one of its main selling points.
Oliver Kay
Sunday, July 13: Real Madrid or PSG, Club World Cup final, MetLife Stadium, 3pm ET, 8pm UK time
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