Chelsea Football Club sent a strong message to the rest of the footballing world with a dominant, all-encompassing display against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Despite being heavily favored to lose, Chelsea beat the odds and defeated PSG 3-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup Final. Going into the match, it seemed that Chelsea were going to be clinging on for dear life.
After all, Les Parisiens had just won their first-ever Champions League title Chelsea, meanwhile, hadn't even participated in the Champions League over the past two seasons.
Since that Champions League victory, a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich, PSG had continued to stake their claim as the strongest team in world football throughout the Club World Cup. Apart from a 1-0 loss to Botafogo with a heavily rotated line-up in the second group stage match, PSG had won each of their five matches with at least a two-goal margin (three of which coming with a four-goal margin).
Similarly to PSG, Chelsea kicked off their campaign with a victory against LAFC only to fall to defeat in their second match. Pedro Neto kicked off proceedings with an early goal, only for Flamengo to score two goals in quick succession en route to a 3-1 victory in Philadelphia.
In hindsight, that defeat in Philly may very well have been a blessing in disguise for Chelsea. Whereas Flamengo wrapped up first place in Group D, Chelsea would finish second in their group after defeating Esperance de Tunis 3-0, giving them a far more accessible side of the draw.
Instead of facing Bayern Munich, they ended up facing Benfica, who they beat 4-1 in extra time following a lengthy weather delay. Instead of facing Paris Saint-Germain, they ended up facing Palmeiras.
And instead of facing Real Madrid in the semifinals, they ended up taking on Fluminense in the final four.
What's more, that Flamengo defeat laid to bare that Chelsea needed to sign to their center forward department, with Nicolas Jackson getting sent off for the second time in four matches. 12 days after Jackson's expulsion, Chelsea signed Brighton striker Jo�o Pedro for �55m plus �5m add-ons, tying him down to an eight-year deal.
Despite not having played since April 19 due to disciplinary issues, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca wasted no time in rushing him back to action in their Independence Day showdown vs. Palmeiras, where he replaced fellow summer signing Liam Delap in the 54th minute and delivering an impressive performance on the bench and allowing momentum to swing back in Chelsea's favor in a 2-1 victory.
It's why Maresca decided to give him his first start for the club merely four days later, with the Brazilian striker rewarding his trust with a brace against former club Fluminense in New Jersey, leading Chelsea to a 2-0 victory and passage to the final.
Chelsea quickly imposed themselves on proceedings and dominated the flow of the final, coming close to scoring in the eighth minute as Pedro's deft backheel flick met Cole Palmer, whose shot sailed just wide.
The Blues continued to force the issue and eventually reaped the rewards as Robert Sanchez lured in Ousmane Dembele before unleashing a long ball towards the right flank. Nuno Mendes failed to deal with the issue and allowed Malo Gusto to burst forward and tee up Palmer, who telegraphed his shot into the left corner.
Palmer would double their lead shortly after, latching onto a lofted pass from Levi Colwill, feigning to pass it before maneuvering towards the middle of the box, where he would finesse another precise effort into the left corner. Palmer put the game to bed before halftime after rolling a through ball into the reach of Pedro, who chipped it past Gianluigi Donnarumma for the third and final goal.
For Palmer, it was yet another stellar big-game display, having previously scored for England in the Euros Final as well as provided a brace for Chelsea in the recent Conference League Final, in addition to goals in the Community Shield and UEFA SuperCup with Manchester City.
For his attacking partner Pedro Neto, it was the end of a bittersweet month which had seen him deliver the most consistently impressive form of his burgeoning Chelsea career, but which had also seen him lose his longtime friend and Portugal teammate Diogo Jota to a tragic car accident.
But as for Jo�o Pedro, it was the culmination of a rollercoaster summer that had seen him dropped from the Brighton squad after a training ground incident. He was enjoying his vacation until just a few days ago, when suddenly, he was on a plane to the USA. And in just a handful of games, he has stolen the show in attack and made a strong case for himself to be Chelsea's starting 9 going into the 2025/26 season.
"I think I was born predestined," stated Jo�o Pedro to FourFourTwo after the match. "When you go on vacation, you end up relaxing a bit. I knew of Chelsea's interest, so I continued to train and ended up being happy in those three games: three games and three goals."
"I've had importance in this tournament, but the entire group is celebrating and deserves to enjoy this moment. This is just the start, there's a lot ahead for us."
