Premier League

Chelsea beats Palmeiras to win the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time in its history

By Hector Garcia

A hard-fought match that was settled by Kai Havertz, with a penalty in the second half of extra time. The Blues dominated in general but had to work hard for the win against a tough Brazilian team.

A hard-fought match that was settled by Kai Havertz, with a penalty in the second half of extra time. The Blues dominated in general but had to work hard for the win against a tough Brazilian team.

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Chelsea are world champions for the first time in their history. After reaching their first Club World Cup final in 2012 and losing to Corinthians, Thomas Tuchel's side, as Champions League winners, added a new distinction to their trophy cabinet after a hard-fought final against Palmeiras. They had to suffer a lot to win the crown.

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The general feeling, however, was marked by the Blues dominance. The Brazilian approach, based on attacking on the counter, did a lot of damage to the Londoners, but only in the first half when the Stamford Bridge coach was still studying the know-how of his rivals to order tactical changes that were fundamental for the victory.

Palmeiras defended its goal well

The English team, in the beginning, were determined to impose a dense control of the possession of the ball, from which they did not produce many dangerous arrivals. The Verdao, with less individual quality, faced this reality without complexes, shielding themselves at the back and trying to test Édouard Mendy from afar whenever they could.

Surrounding Lukaku was one of the keys. The Belgian was not comfortable at any time and only later when his legs were already tired, did he have the necessary space to score from a double mismatch in the defense. In any case, the goal was the consequence of a period of lucid superiority for Chelsea.

Lukaku opened the scoring

The problems suffered by the Blues in the first half subsided as the clock ticked down to frustrate Palmeiras, who looked inferior and did not arrive with clarity. In this context; more specifically, in the 55th minute, Lukaku appeared in the box to finish, with his forehead, a precise cross from Hudson-Odoi for the 1-0. Piquerez and Luan Garcia, who were in charge of covering the striker, arrived late.

Luan Garcia, in fact, appeared in the photo of the 1-0, the 2-1, and the end of the match. Not only did he make a mistake in defending Lukaku first, but when the score was 1-1, he lifted his hand away from his body from Azpilicueta's volley, committed a penalty, and condemned his own team. Just before the final whistle, he was shown the red card for kicking Havertz when he was about to have an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

Palmeiras tied via penalty

Had it not been for these mistakes, Palmeiras might have at least survived until the penalty shootout. The Verdao got into the match the same way they came out: from the penalty spot. In 63', Thiago Silva jumped in Mendy's box to clear a cross with his arm up and deflected the ball, which allowed Raphael Veiga, after the referee's review on the VAR monitor, to equalize from the spot-kick.

Whether due to fatigue or lack of ideas, Palmeiras' goal seemed to be the opening whistle of a new match, one in which the atmosphere was one of low tempo and fewer chances, but in which Chelsea had the upper hand. They laid siege to the Brazilian box with a flurry of balls that, one way or another, would end up doing some good, and did serve to win.

Luan returned the favor to Chelsea

That penalty for a handball by Luan on a shot by Azplicueta took place in the 115th minute, with both teams already thinking about who would be their penalty takers in the shootout. Fortunately for the Blues, it was not needed. Havertz settled his nerves, fooled Weverton, and won Chelsea's first world crown.

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