FIFA Club World Cup
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Chelsea are leading Fluminense 2-0 in the first of the 2025 Club World Cup semi-finals.
Summer signing Joao Pedro curled home the opening goal of the game against his boyhood club. The 23-year-old forward then added a second with a thumping finish in the second half.
The winner will face either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final.
73' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
A battle down the Chelsea left-hand side between Soteldo and Cucurella is won by the Spaniard after he pestered the Fluminense substitute enough to swing a hand in his face.
Cucurella, as you can probably imagine, went down rather theatrically with yet another shriek. A yellow card was rightly shown to Soteldo.
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71' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
The Fluminense supporters are not giving up hope of a comeback here, and neither are the players.
They are shooting towards the end of the stadium where their fans are housed so they would love to give them something to celebrate.
Vinicius Lima, who has just been introduced from the bench, has just slammed an effort over the crossbar from 20 yards.
68' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
Both managers look to their benches on this very hot summer's day.
For Fluminense, Yeferson Soteldo has replaced Nonato while it is Noni Madueke and Reece James on for Neto and Gusto for the Premier League side.
67' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
Moises Caicedo is having such an excellent game. We know how much he loves a challenge, but the bite he adds to Chelsea’s midfield is just superb.
Another perfect tackle is just further evidence of that.
66' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
That was an absolutely stunning move by Chelsea a couple of minutes ago. They baited the press, there was one-touch passing, synchronized movements — all it was missing was the goal, courtesy of a goal-line clearance by Thiago Silva for Fluminense.
64' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
It isn't just the scoreboard that Chelsea are dominating, they have been far the better team throughout the entirety of this semi-final.
It feels like the victories against Inter and Al Hilal have left Fluminense with nothing left in the tank for another upset and Chelsea have been excellent in punishing them.
Stranger things have happened in this sport, but it feels like the Brazilians need something of a miracle to come back from here.
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61' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
This is the first time that Joao Pedro has scored two non-penalty goals in a match since he did so in January 2024 for Brighton against Stoke City in the FA Cup.
Before that, you'd have to go back to December 2022 for the previous instance, when he had a brace for Watford against Huddersfield Town in the Championship.
60' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
There will be no hat-trick for Pedro on his first start, but he has had a huge influence on this semi-final.
Two goals and he has almost certainly secured his place in the starting XI for the final, if Chelsea hold on.
Jackson is on for his third appearance of the tournament.
Moments before, Fluminense's Nonato was booked for a very late challenge on Pedro.
58' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
Just like that, Chelsea have a commanding lead in this Club World Cup semi-final.
Not happy with a first goal on his first start for his new club, Pedro has doubled up! Palmer led the counter-attack and after he was dispossessed, Fernandez picked it up and released Pedro with a beauty of a pass from the outside of his foot.
The Brazilian raced towards the penalty area, breezed past Ignacio onto his right foot and hammered an effort off the crossbar and in.
The sort of clinical finish Chelsea have desperately lacked with Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap up there.
56' Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea
Another superb finish from Joao Pedro on his full Chelsea debut!
55' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
And now Fluminense land a punch in this second half!
A couple of sharp passes in the middle of the pitch — after a potential foul – and Everaldo, fresh off the bench, was set free. He did have a Chelsea defender for company and his run took him too wide of goal.
Ultimately, he went for a hopeful effort but Sanchez was easily down to keep it out, although he did initially spill it.
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53' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
Another shot from distance from Chelsea, but this one from Cucurella was better than Caicedo's.
The Spaniard looked a little surprised to have so much space to move into and his eyes lit up. The strike was a decent one but always looked to be heading wide of Fabio's bottom corner.
The Fluminense goalkeeper put in a full-length dive but didn't need to bother as the effort went half a yard wide.
51' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
Chelsea's high press is continuing to bother Fluminense here. Malo Gusto pushed up to force the latest turnover and with Chelsea's forwards still high up, the Fluminense defenders dropped too deep in panic, giving the other players time to get forward and support the attack.
49' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
It hasn't taken long to have our first shot of the second half.
Good work from Palmer, who has been pretty quiet by his standards so far, and he laid the ball into Caicedo 25 yards from goal. The Ecuadorian stepped into a pocket of space and unleashed a right-footed effort that was never troubling Fabio.
The Fluminense goalkeeper watched it fly a long way over the crossbar.
47' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
Just watching the Chelsea goal again, it was such good work by Joao Pedro to win the ball in the first place and release Pedro Neto down the left-hand side. Ball recoveries aren't something he was particularly renowned for at Brighton, but Enzo Maresca will be delighted if that is the sign of things to come.
46' Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
The players are back out on the pitch having hopefully had chance to take on suitable refreshment.
Chelsea are 45 minutes away from the Club World Cup final while their opponents need to find a goal to have any chance of extending their stay in the United States.
Who wins it from here? Let's find out.
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HT Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
You wouldn't know it from the blazing hot sun we've had here at MetLife today, but East Rutherford, NJ currently has a severe thunderstorm watch in effect. The weather radar shows that we may get some showers right around the end of normal time.
Could that mean a repeat of Chelsea's match against Benfica in the round of 16? For those that missed it, Chelsea was leading 1-0 when the game was halted with just a few minutes left due to a nearby storm.
When the match eventually resumed after a delay of nearly two hours, Benfica miraculously forced extra time thanks to a penalty. Chelsea ultimately prevailed 4-1.
HT Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
A real element of synchronicity when comparing Joao Pedro's goal in this game to Estevao's in Chelsea's quarter-final. Pedro, a 23-year-old Brazilian, scored a brilliant strike against his former team, having just moved to Chelsea in a deal worth more than £50million.
Estevao, an 18-year-old Brazilian, scored a brilliant strike for Palmeiras against his future team, having signed a deal to move to Chelsea this summer for a transfer potentially worth up to £49m.
HT Fluminense 0-1 Chelsea
Perhaps fortunately for referee Francois Letexier and his assistants, Chelsea and Fluminese left the pitch via different exits after the first half — and the officials walked off with Chelsea after a few strong words from Fluminese players.