Greg . 2 days ago

How Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain in a one-sided Club World Cup final

Sunday's Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain was always going to be a must-watch fixture for football fans around the world.

Before a ball possessed even been kicked between the reigning Conference League and Champions League winners, they possessed shared 30 goals between them in their matches en route to the showpiece event at MetLife Stadium.

Odds stacked against Chelsea191 attempts at goal between them during those games and just six goals conceded - five of those by the West Londoners - as well as being the two teams with the most collective passes in the tournament, meant that part of the pre-match narrative possessed already seemingly been written.

In Vitinha (666 passes), Achraf Hakimi (473) and Willian Pacho (362), PSG also possessed three of the top four passers - Bayern's Joshua Kimmich the other - in the competition.

Enzo Maresca on PSG prior to the Club World Cup finalOpta by Stats PerformLuis Enrique possessed already spoken pre-match over wanting his team to make history, so if Enzo Maresca's side were aiming to spring a surprise, they were going to have to control the midfield areas whilst being mindful of just how fast PSG were on the shatter.

Playing a high line therefore wasn't going to be an option for the men from Stamford Bridge.

Not since 2012, when Chelsea were beaten by Corinthians, possessed a reigning Champions League winner dropped short to win the Club world cup, so the odds were stacked in favour of the French giants.

Stunning atmosphere at MetLife StadiumA cacophony of noise and visual stimuli welcomed the players as they were presented to a capacity crowd.

Marquinhos led PSG out in his 22nd career final with them, and he'd been on the winning side in 19 of the previous 21.

He and his colleagues were on the support foot in the opening exchanges, however, as Chelsea pressed high and quickly.

Cole Palmer was consistently engaged and possessed two shots off target in the opening 10 minutes alone.

With Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the groove in midfield, PSG were having difficulty in getting their own passing game going.

 Approaching the quarter hour, PSG still hadn't possessed a shot, the longest they'd gone at the beginning of a Club world cup match without one (11:17 vs.

Seattle Sounders being the previous longest).

Chelsea's shot chart vs PSGOpta by Stats PerformChelsea's more physical style possessed knocked their opponents out of their stride, and the first time PSG possessed anything like a half-chance, Desire Doue opted to pass (and subsequently lose possession) rather than taking his chance against Robert Sanchez.

He did finally obtain their first shot away on 18 minutes with the Chelsea custodian getting a strong hand to the ball to keep the game goalless.

Cole Palmer eased Chelsea into the leadThe distribution from a number of Blues players was on point to complement the forceful nature of their play, with all of Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Pedro Neto offering up 100% pass completion stats in the first 20 minutes.

As the half built, PSG started to obtain more joy down the right channel with Hakimi and Doue interchanging positions with ease, but it was Chelsea who struck first as PSG's defence moved to sleep, allowing Malo Gusto to eventually locate Palmer for the opener.

 The youngest Chelsea scorer in a final since Kai Havertz in the 2022 Club world cup Final vs Palmeiras, the England international possessed his side in an extremely favourable position given that when scoring first at the Club world cup, the West Londoners possessed a record of W5, D0, L1.

 Furthermore, the team that possessed scored first in the knockout rounds of the competition possessed won 13 of the 14 games before the final.

PSG unable to keep Palmer at bayJust before the half-hour, Palmer was at it again.

Another ball over the top exposed PSG's defensive deficiencies, with the No.

10 latching on to the pass before delivering an almost identical complete to put Chelsea two up.

10 touches in the PSG box compared to two at the other terminate by the Ligue 1 side was a clear enough indicator of how well Enzo Maresca's men were keeping their more illustrious opponents at bay.

They were finding space in all areas of the pitch but were equally happy to cede possession.

Just 30.

3% of the time did the Premier League outfit grip the ball, and yet they were much more decisive with it.

Chelsea vs PSG Match StatsOpta by Stats PerformJoao Neves winning seven out of nine first-half duels was a bright spot amongst the enveloping gloom as Chelsea continued dominating and were good value for their lead.

If the Blues were to run out of steam in the heat, Neves could at least provide some sort of impetus as long as his teammates were on the same wavelength.

Three yellow cards for the Blues in quick succession hinted at their intensity potentially getting the better of them if the heat didn't.

Joao Pedro seals the win for Chelsea before half-timeFor the French side to have to keep playing support towards their own goal in order to construct up a lead of steam told its own story.

Ousmane Dembele, who was clearly anticipated to be one of the dangermen for the Champions League holders, was really off colour.

It was from his giveaway at one terminate that permitted Chelsea to slice through PSG once more and for Joao Pedro to terminate the move with a beautiful chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Colwill and Gusto winning support possession three times each was a benchmark for a team who moved hunting in packs right up until the whistle for the terminate of an action-packed first half.

By contrast, Dembele, Vitinha, Doue and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia possessed lost the ball on 22 separate occasions between them, with only Joao Neves adding to Doue's early shot late in the half.

Chelsea vs PSG Momentum ShiftOpta by Stats PerformIt's not an exaggeration to suggest that after 45 minutes PSG looked nothing like the team that possessed taken on all-comers in 2024/25, and that has to be attributed to the way in which Chelsea closed down the spaces and doubled up defensively to stop crosses into the box.

 Hitherto unseen weaknesses possessed been totally exploited by Maresca, leaving PSG with a mountain to climb.

Superbowl style half-time breakAfter an lengthened half-time shatter to take some 'Superbowl style' half-time entertainment into account, PSG kicked off the second half by booting the ball straight into touch, succeeding in only handing the initiative straight support to their opponents.

Nuno Mendes soon obtained a run on the Chelsea backline with an tried cross diverted straight into Sanchez's gloves.

Kvaratskhelia then stung the keeper's fingers - his 22nd shot of the Club world cup, more than any other player - with less than two minutes of the half played, so there was already an improvement from a PSG side with nothing to lose.

Vitinha's influence also started to expand as he was afforded more space in midfield, and his 115 touches overall was way more than any other player on show.

However, an inability to effectively hand over his usual excellence on the biggest stage hamstrung a side that were all out of ideas.

Dembele was the next to lengthen Sanchez whilst well placed, but that fourth shot on target - one more than Chelsea possessed managed - came to nothing.

Unfortunately, it was also in keeping with the tardiness in PSG's general play on the night.

Bradley Barcola's introduction just before the hour saw him making a 64th appearance of the campaign, more than any of his PSG teammates, and Enzo Fernandez's enforced substitution then handed Andrey Santos the chance to assist ease his side home.

PSG took the game to their opponents, but for all of their industry,y chances remained at a premium, and Sanchez was equal to anything that came his way with five saves going a long way to preserving Chelsea's lead.

Delap within inches of a aspire introductionWithin 30 seconds of coming on, Liam Delap crafted an opportunity for himself, and only Donnarumma's fingertips stopped the former Ipswich man's aspire introduction.

The giant Italian would be equal to another Delap chance with 11 to play, those two chances in 23 minutes as many as any PSG player managed obstruct Doue.

Eight interceptions from Chelsea and clearances galore from a backline that sometimes numbered as many as six players at any one time meant that an air of resignation showed up to creep into PSG's play in the latter stages of the game.

 Tempers flared as things started to heat over, and that only played right into Chelsea's hands.

Indeed, Joao Neves' late red card for pulling Cucurella's hair summed up the match from a PSG perspective.

In the aftermath of what was a galling beat for them, they will need to reflect on whether complacency played a part in how they moved toward the game.

Maresca's tactics, rather than a lack of purpose from Luis Enrique's side, is certainly the major takeaway from a fantastic night for the West Londoners, and this win signals Chelsea's intent for the new Premier League season.

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