Sport | Football
Club World Cup final LIVE
Cole Palmer produced a scintillating first-half masterclass as Chelsea demolished Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the Club World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The English attacking midfielder scored twice and provided an assist for Joao Pedro in a devastating display in the revamped tournament’s decider that left the European and French champions, who finished with 10 men, shell-shocked before the break.
Chelsea struck first in the 22nd minute when PSG fullback Nuno Mendes gifted possession to Malo Gusto. While his initial effort was blocked by Mendes, Gusto collected the rebound and found Palmer unmarked in the middle and the midfielder made no mistake, slotting a tidy finish just inside the left post.
Palmer doubled the lead after the 30th-minute cooling break with a goal of sublime quality. Latching onto a precise through ball from Levi Colwill, he cut inside before faking a pass to dummy a defender and firing into the bottom-left corner.
Palmer then turned provider, running up the channel before finding Joao Pedro, who took the ball in his stride and beat the offside trap before chipping his finish beautifully over keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. PSG’s misery was completed when Joao Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the 83rd minute.
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Huge clashes on the pitch at full-time and Luis Enrique appears to have hit Joao Pedro in the face, along with Gianluigi Donnarumma.
96min: There’s the whistle! Chelsea at on top of the world!
94min: Bloody hell, Mendes flies in on Nkunku who wasn’t even moving.
These PSG lot don’t like losing, do they?
93min: Sanchez almost lets himself down with a slip but PSG cannot take advantage.
91min: Five more minutes for Chelsea to wait.
It’s the right call. Joao Neves has been very irritable today and is ultimately sent off for a stupid tug of Cucurella’s hair.
FIFA clamped down on that sort of thing two years ago, and PSG will finish with 10 men.
87min: I tell you what, Caicedo is lucky to avoid a second yellow card for a clumsy lunge.
85min: Joao Nevez is booked for a pull on Cucurella’s hair. How stupid.
Oh, hold on, VAR is taking a look… and it’s a red card!
That’s so close from Delap, who did brilliantly to use his body and fend off the challenge.
Fresh legs seems to be doing the trick for Chelsea, who continue to show little respect to their opponents. It was almost 4-0!
80min: Delap again goes close! He picks Beraldo’s pocket but fails to beat Donnarumma from inside the area.
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