Chelsea stun PSG to clinch Club World Cup

RTHK

3 days ago

Chelsea stun PSG to clinch Club World Cup
Chelsea scored three goals in the first half to stun the European champions in the Club World Cup final. Photo: Reuters
Chelsea's Reece James lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the FIFA Club World Cup. Photo: Reuters
Cole Palmer scored two goals and made another as Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup, beating the European champions 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium to win the first edition of Fifa's revamped competition.
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 US$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. (AFP)