The Blues romped to victory in the U.S. showpiece, and showed that they are worthy champions of the world – bolstered by immense financial backing
After eight minutes of the Club World Cup final, Cole Palmer missed. It was the kind of chance you'd expect him to bury, all said. He received the ball in that Palmer pocket of bliss, top of the box, left foot poised, curved shot loading. These are what Palmer's goals look like. But he misfired, putting his shot into the side netting. At that point, it looked like Chelsea were done. That was their one chance against the Paris Saint-Germain juggernaut, and they had blown it.
Instead, they came alive. Fifteen minutes later, Palmer got a second look, in roughly the same spot, and this time he made no mistake, tucking the ball into the bottom corner. He added another soon after, completing a lovely flowing move with a fiercely similar finish past a sprawling Gianluigi Donnarumma. He had a hand in the third, too, feeding Joao Pedro, who controlled and dinked to give Chelsea a 3-0 lead on the stroke of halftime.
After just 43 minutes, the Blues had basically beaten the European champions. They turned in an enthralling performance against PSG on Sunday night, and were deserved winners of the Club World Cup trophy. A fluid first half gave way to a disciplined second, Chelsea still dangerous on the break but wonderfully resolute at the back – tackles flying, blocks made, fist pumps on show for all. PSG never really came close, other than a couple of big saves from the surprisingly excellent Robert Sanchez, who delivered consistently on the night.
After full time, Luis Enrique spoke about how his team weren't "losers." Indeed, they were merely "runners up" in a high-level tournament. And that might be a fair interpretation of events. But zoom out, and they were thoroughly outplayed here. One team came in with a razor-sharp game plan, a main man in star form, and a coach who believed in it. The other side just looked knackered.
And, more broadly, this is the perfect vindication of Todd Boehly's project. Money cannot buy you a perfect transfer strategy, nor the right players. But it can buy you some very good ones, and, in this case, the right to be called world champions. Chelsea may have stuttered in the Premier League this season, but on this evidence, they could be dark horses for the title in 2025-26.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from MetLife Stadium…
Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowGetty ImagesWINNER: COLE PALMER
Didier Drogba was a Cup Final cult hero for Chelsea. Widely regarded as the best striker ever to don the famous blue kit, the Ivorian is still talked about in the present day as the best the world has ever seen. Hell, his track record backs it up. In 10 finals for Chelsea, he scored nine goals, won eight of them, and in every single contest they won, he scored – it's a mind-boggling statistic.
Chelsea's new has arrived, though, and his name is Cole Palmer.
The England international scored twice and bagged an assist on Sunday, and after the final whistle, was handed the Golden Ball for the best player in the competition. In Chelsea's UEFA Conference League final triumph against Real Betis earlier this year, he bagged two assists en route to the English side lifting the competition trophy, as well. To add to it, in the 2024 European Championship final, he scored to give England hope against Spain, and though they ultimately came up short-handed, he provided them a spark off the bench. Before this, he'd scored Manchester City's equalizing goal in a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in 2023, and also found the net in the same season in the Community Shield against Arsenal.
In six cup finals to date as a professional, Palmer has scored or assisted in all but one, and lost just three.
It's safe to say that Chelsea have found their new clutch hero they can rely on in moments where a star is needed.
Advertisement(C)Getty imagesLOSER: LUIS ENRIQUE
Luis Enrique had put everyone on notice before Sunday's matchup that this wouldn't be an easy game. It felt like typical mind tricks from a manager who has coached no shortage of big contests over the years. His comments about Enzo Maresca were basically exorbitant shows of flattery. He admitted that he loves Chelsea's football, and was near-infatuated with the way they play.
Part of that, of course, is tempering expectations. The Parisians were clear favorites here, and he surely must have known that. Still, there was perhaps a sniff of complacency in the way his side went into the game. Luis Enrique has set up this Parisians side in the same way, with the same personnel, with the same intent since January. There were no surprise additions to the XI here, no tactical anomalies. Stick with the same formula, Lucho, it'll work once again. What he didn't seem to prepare for, though, was a manager who would have his own ideas.
And while Enzo Maresca tinkered, Luis Enrique held firm. He watched his side get dismantled within 25 minutes, and did very little to change it. This is, of course, a tough ask. PSG are the best team in the world. What do you do when the formula that won you a Champions League final no longer works? Most managers would tweak, adjust, get creative. Instead, he fell into like-for-like subs and had few spontaneous ideas. He was outcoached here, and it showed.
AFPWINNER: ENZO MARESCA
As for the other dugout… Maresca made it clear that he believed in his side prior to the game. Well, duh. Of course, he had to. He could not simply sit behind a table, cameras on, a microphone before him, and concede defeat. This is not how football works. But what few would have predicted was a game plan so precise. Maresca admitted that they had targeted the PSG left – where Nuno Mendes would be reluctant to hold a defensive position – as an ideal place to attack.
And Chelsea absolutely battered that area. Maresca was clever. He played Malo Gusto at right back – nothing out of the ordinary – but moved Palmer out to the right, and shifted Enzo Fernandez to the centre. The result was a finely balanced triangle, one that gave Palmer plenty of space to be Chelsea's difference maker on the day. These are the things you can do when you're a manager with a clear star player: tell your team to get it to your guy when he's open – and wait for the magic to happen.
They were clever elsewhere, too. Maresca had presumably watched PSG's semi-final with Real Madrid. Los Blancos backed into a mid-block that game, and were thoroughly pummelled. Chelsea had to press, he insisted. And even if they struggled to keep it up for 90 minutes, the opening few were all they needed.
"We won the game inside the first 10 minutes," he boasted at the post-match press conference. He wasn't wrong.
GettyLOSER: OUSMANE DEMBELE
How much does the Ballon d'Or really mean in the post-Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era? For so long, it was the measuring stick between the two GOATs, the line in the sand that could, theoretically, separate No.1 from No.2. Since then, it has lost its way a bit, handed out almost reluctantly, and with immense controversy. Ousmane Dembele, though, would be a fairly uncontroversial pick: Ligue 1, Champions League, lots of goals – nothing to see here.
However, Sunday might have put just the tiniest sliver of doubt into voters' minds. For one, Dembele was actively bad. The forward tried to do the standard rotating across the PSG line, looking for spaces to attack and the right spots to press. But nothing really came off for him on the day. He was, to be sure, let down by some shoddy play from his teammates here and there, but never had a singular star moment befitting of the award. This is the issue with the trophy this year: the only players to have won games single-handedly are Mohamed Salah and Lamine Yamal – but their shortcomings in the Champions League have them on the outside looking in. Dembele should have wrapped it up here. Instead, there is now a decision to make.
