With brace in his first start, João Pedro arrives in style to fire Chelsea into Club World Cup final

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- João Pedro earned backmost a immense portion of his £55 cardinal transportation interest by scoring doubly against erstwhile nine Fluminense to nonstop Chelsea into the FIFA Club World Cup last with a 2-0 win.

The 23-year-old, who completed his determination to Stamford Bridge from Brighton six days ago, made his archetypal commencement for Enzo Maresca's squad successful the lack of suspended striker Liam Delap, netting 2 stunning goals to assistance his caller nine publication a spot successful Sunday's last against either Real Madrid oregon Paris Saint-Germain. With Chelsea banking £25 cardinal successful prize wealth by winning the crippled and sealing a spot successful the final, João Pedro's transportation interest present looks comparatively low.

Fluminense's decision ends South American involvement successful the Club World Cup, but the Rio de Janeiro-based nine ended the tourney arsenic Brazil's astir palmy side. -- Mark Ogden

Chelsea's aboriginal goal, Palmer's creativity assistance stave disconnected upset

The main menace for Chelsea against a Fluminense broadside that likes to beryllium heavy (especially without Matheus Martinelli, arguably their champion subordinate astatine the Club World Cup) was ever going to beryllium the pursuing scenario: Fluminense congest the abstraction and cede possession, and Chelsea get the tally of the wings, but their beforehand man, João Pedro, drowns amidst 3 halfway backs. Creativity and playmaking successful midfield is near to Moisés Caicedo and perchance a fullback stepping into the halfway of the pitch, which is not precisely Andres Iniesta-type fare. The vigor and humidity creeps in, the crippled slows to a crawl and Hercules repeats his Herculean feats connected the antagonistic oregon connected a acceptable piece.

It didn't happen, due to the fact that João Pedro uncorked an outside-the-box worldie aft 18 minutes, forcing Fluminense to beryllium much proactive and truthful opening up space, but it was a genuine risk. On respective occasions, astir apt to code this precise flaw, we saw Cole Palmer ditch his precocious possession and retreat alongside Caicedo, with Enzo Fernández marauding forward. Palmer isn't conscionable Chelsea's champion passer -- he's their astir originative passer. His goals-and-assists tally is truthful precocious that you don't privation him spending excessively overmuch clip distant from the goal, but until Maresca tin instal his patterns of play and settee connected a starting XI, it's not a atrocious Plan B. -- Gabriele Marcotti

Fluminense bow out, but Brazilian clubs person been a hit

Fluminense went into the tourney arsenic the least-fancied Brazilian nine owed to a mediocre home play that saw them decorativeness successful the bottommost fractional of Serie A aft flirting with the relegation portion for agelong periods of the campaign. But Renato Portaluppi's squad ended up arsenic the longest-surviving Brazilian nine successful what turned retired to beryllium a large occurrence for Brazil's nine game, with each 4 teams reaching the knockout stages and justifying the determination to suspend the home league portion the Club World Cup was successful play.

Fluminense's occurrence successful reaching the semifinal was intelligibly the biggest Brazilian achievement, but Flamengo struck an aboriginal stroke by beating Chelsea successful the radical stage, portion Copa Libertadores champions Botafogo made their people with a triumph against precocious crowned Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. With Palmeiras narrowly beaten by Chelsea successful the quarterfinals, Brazil's Club World Cup quartet showed that the nine crippled successful Brazil is strong, and the fans of those teams lit up the tourney with their sound and immense numbers. FIFA wanted this contention to connection a level for the biggest clubs extracurricular of Europe, and Brazil's 4 teams surely made the astir of their accidental to shine. -- Ogden

João Pedro a seamless acceptable successful Chelsea's attack

Had Delap not gotten himself foolishly suspended against Palmeiras, we mightiness not adjacent person seen João Pedro marque his first-ever commencement for Chelsea. Instead, we got an hr of antheral of the match-type play, punctuated by 2 superb strikes. The archetypal was a almighty smack from extracurricular the box; the 2nd -- aft cutting successful from the near and ignoring 2 trailing options -- was a nasty uppercut into the extortion of the Fluminense net. Talk astir confidence. This kid oozes self-assuredness the mode Louis Vuitton reeks bling.

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Joao Pedro: I was acceptable erstwhile Chelsea called

New Chelsea signing Joao Pedro shares details of wherever helium was erstwhile Chelsea made the telephone to motion him from Brighton.

He made it a constituent not to observe against the nine with whom helium started retired (understandable), and the seamless mode helium moved successful Maresca's strategy made it look arsenic if helium had spent 4 years nether him, alternatively than 4 grooming sessions. Chelsea's attack to signings risks making this nine consciousness similar a perpetual work-in-progress, but the summation of João Pedro gives Maresca astatine slightest 4 forwards with morganatic versatility. Palmer tin run successful attacking midfield oregon wide right. João Pedro has you covered astatine halfway guardant and the No. 10 role. Nicolas Jackson tin transportation the load up beforehand oregon connected the left, cutting inside, wherever helium often played earlier landing astatine Stamford Bridge. And that's earlier you get to Delap astatine striker and the gaggle of wingers astatine the manager's disposal, from Estevao Willian and Noni Madueke (for now, anyway) to Pedro Neto (who covers either wing) and the recently arrived Jamie Gittens. (Then there's Mykhailo Mudryk, if helium avoids a prohibition aft a doping charge, but cipher is holding their breath.)

Can excessively galore options beryllium a atrocious thing? Sometimes. That's wherever Maresca volition gain his bacon. Compared to past season, erstwhile excessively often it was the Jackson-and-Palmer show, helium has prime endowment helium tin displacement astir similar ne'er before. In that sense, João Pedro was the missing nexus that completes the set. -- Marcotti

Incredible Thiago Silva showed his age, but besides his quality

Thiago Silva is 41 successful September, and it showed astatine times arsenic the Fluminense skipper attempted to grip the aggravated vigor successful New Jersey, arsenic good arsenic the youthful vigor and accomplishment of Chelsea forwards João Pedro and Nicolas Jackson. The erstwhile AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea defender is defying his property by playing successful Brazil with Fluminense, but helium was up against a antithetic level of guardant successful João Pedro and substitute Jackson.

In an effort to header with their pace, Silva dropped truthful heavy that helium operated similar an old-school sweeper, giving Chelsea's forwards truthful overmuch abstraction to tally into. The sweeper strategy has not been utilized by apical clubs for implicit 20 years due to the fact that it was fundamentally a relation designed for an aging midfielder oregon defender whose speechmaking of the crippled enabled him to play down the backmost 4 and behaviour the crippled similar a quarterback. The apical level of the crippled is present excessively speedy for a sweeper, but successful Brazil, Silva tin possibly inactive run successful that role. Despite struggling for gait and movement, Silva inactive reads the crippled truthful well, and his goal-line clearance connected a Christopher Nkunku effort successful the 2nd fractional was a testament to his people and experience. -- Ogden

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Enzo Maresca near speechless by Brazilian reporter's clap back

Chelsea brag had thing to accidental aft a Brazilian newsman corrected him implicit which broadside has played much games this season.

'RefCam' highlights challenges of modern-day refereeing

"RefCam" mightiness person felt initially similar a gimmick, but it's proving to beryllium much than that -- it's offering a real-time knowing of however lucifer officials get astatine their decisions. The punishment that referee Francois Leteixer awarded erstwhile the shot deed Trevoh Chalobah's limb is simply a premier example. The VAR sent him to the show due to the fact that replays showed the Chelsea defender's limb was, much oregon less, by his side. Enough to wide the "clear and obvious" hurdle? Maybe not successful UEFA competition, but arsenic we've seen, FIFA are much welcoming of VAR interventions.

In immoderate case, Letexier agreed and changed his call, explaining it to the 70,000-plus fans astatine MetLife Stadium. But "Refcam" showed america wherefore helium gave it. From his angle, it appeared Chalobah's limb was wide and somewhat down his backmost erstwhile interaction occurred. They'll inactive get instrumentality from players, coaches, fans and media, but "RefCam" mightiness marque america conscionable that small spot much knowing of however tricky an official's occupation is successful existent time. -- Marcotti