Chelsea thrash PSG to win Club World Cup: Key stats
What's the story
Chelsea FC have been crowned the FIFA Club World Cup champions after a stunning 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in New Jersey. The match was played in front of the US President, who witnessed Chelsea's historic win as the first-ever champions of the expanded, 32-team competition. Cole Palmer was the star of the show, scoring two goals and providing an assist to Joao Pedro for another.
Match highlights
Palmer scores brace and assists another
Palmer opened the scoring with a low finish from Malo Gusto's cut-back in the 22nd minute. Just eight minutes later, he doubled Chelsea's lead with another similar strike. The young star then assisted new signing Joao Pedro, who scored over Gianluigi Donnarumma after his two-goal performance against Fluminense. PSG were stunned by Chelsea's intensity and tactics, especially targeting their left flank ruthlessly.
Tactical approach
Chelsea's defense stands tall against PSG's attacks
Despite PSG controlling most of the possession (66%), Chelsea's defense held strong. Robert Sanchez made some brilliant saves to deny PSG, including a close-range shot from Ousmane Dembele. Chelsea's strategy was clear: they were quick to challenge and even quicker to send the ball into space behind PSG. This tactic paid off as they scored three well-crafted goals with just 126 passes completed in total.
Resilience
How the 2nd half panned out
After a long half-time break, PSG came out strong and attacked Chelsea. Sanchez was forced to save from Fabian Ruiz and Kvaratskhelia. He also made a fantastic close-range save from Dembele, who should have scored. Despite the pressure, Chelsea's defense remained resilient and they rarely felt the kind of pressure that could have taken the trophy away from them.
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Pedro, Chelsea's new signing, already owns three goals
Chelsea's new signing Pedro scored both goals in a semi-final against Fluminense FC. He has now scored against European Champions PSG in a final and won the FIFA Club World Cup. He clocked six shots with four shots being on target and scored three goals.
Palmer
Palmer races to 43 goals and 29 assists for Chelsea
In 52 matches during the 2024-25 season across all competitions for Chelsea, Palmer ended up with 18 goals and 14 assists. Overall in 97 matches for the Blues, Palmer owns 43 goals and 29 assists. In the Europa Conference League final, Palmer provided two assists and was named Player of the Match. In the FIFA Club World Cup final, he scored twice, provided an assist and was named the Player of the Match. This was Palmer's 2nd trophy with the Blues.
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A look at the match stats
Chelsea clocked 10 attempts with 5 shots on target. PSG had 8 attempts with six shots on target. PSG had 67% ball possession and 90% pass accuracy from 599 passes. PSG earned 5 corners to Chelsea's three.