Chelsea have booked their place in the FIFA Club World Cup final with a composed 2–0 win over Brazilian giants Fluminense, thanks to a brilliant brace from new recruit João Pedro.
Just six days into his new contract, 23-year-old Joao Pedro made an instant impact on debut against his boyhood club, opening the scoring in the 18th minute with a composed curling finish from the left side of the box.
Fluminense were left frustrated when a potential first-half penalty initially awarded for a Trevoh Chalobah handball, was reversed following a VAR check. The decision shifted the momentum, and from that point on Chelsea asserted their dominance.
Pedro doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 56th minute, smashing a powerful strike in off the crossbar to all but seal the result in front of a near-capacity crowd at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
The Brazilians had their chances, including a goal-line clearance, the overturned penalty, and several promising openings in the second half that ultimately came to nothing.
The win sees the Blues advance to the final on Saturday (U.S. time), where they’ll meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid who clash in tomorrow’s second semi-final.
As for Fluminense who had gone unbeaten until today, bow out with pride after an impressive tournament run, earning plenty of respect and support along the way.
Fluminense: 0
Chelsea FC: 2 (Joao PEDRO 18’, 56’)
HT: 0–1
