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EAST RUTHERFORD: Chelsea outplayed UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0 to clinch the FIFA Club World Cup trophy here at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on Sunday.
This was the first edition of the 32-team Club World Cup, with the next tournament scheduled to take place in 2029. The Chelsea vs PSG final saw a nearly full house with 81,118 fans in attendance, including President Donald Trump.
The European champions, PSG, made their way to the United States after their triumphant campaign, with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in late May. However, the favorites failed to live up to the expectation as Chelsea dominated throughout the final.
The ‘Player of the Match’ in the Chelsea vs PSG final, Cole Palmer, scored two goals and set up another as the English club won the first edition of the expanded Club World Cup by beating European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in Sunday’s final at the 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium.
Palmer netted twice in the opening half-hour and Joao Pedro added the third before the break, with a roundly beaten PSG having Joao Neves sent off late on.
Cole Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes.
A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball.
It was a scoreline that few could have predicted, as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season by becoming the first-ever winners of the Club World Cup, having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League.
They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it.
For PSG, the financial benefits are similar, but there is a real sense of disappointment in not being able to add this title to their Champions League victory and their double win in the French league and cup.
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