Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras (AET): 5 Talking Points as the Blues are crowned World Champions in Abu Dhabi | FIFA Club World Cup 2022
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea beat Palmeiras in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup 2022 on Saturday night. The Blues became the third English side to win all the possible club honours that can be won, in domestic and intercontinental football.
Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz sealed the win after extra-time. Raphael Veiga's penalty in the 64th minute proved to be just a consolation for the Copa Libertadores Champions.
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There is no doubt that the gap between the European and South American sides is decreasing with every passing season. Palmeiras took upon the huge challenge and almost were on par with their English counterparts until the 117th minute of the game. In fact, the Brazilian team was much more clinical than Chelsea in the first half of the game.
It was a similar scenario at both ends of the pitch during the game as video-assistant-referee (VAR) interventions led to penalties for both sides. Both spot-kicks were successfully converted by Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras) and Kai Havertz (Chelsea) respectively. Romelu Lukaku's header from a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross remained the only open-play goal of the night.
Without much ado, let's dive straight into the top five talking points from a game that leveled up big time in the latter half.
Player of the match ✅
Player of the tournament ✅
Thiago Silva 🌟 https://t.co/6lC7US9TMg
#1 Palmeiras front-three rattle wasteful Blues in a dull first-half
The European Champions controlled 69% possession in the first half. But they struggled to create any material chance apart from a long-range Thiago Silva strike. Meanwhile, Palmeiras were absolutely on-point when it came to tactically decoding the Chelsea pattern.
The Copa Libertadores holders made every chance count as they progressed the ball forward, into the Chelsea half. Stopper Weverton was brilliant in his quick distribution from the back, especially to left-winger Dudu. The winner caused big problems for Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen for a major part of the game.
The 30-year-old Brazilian was not only a threat due to his pace, but he was very efficient in his passing and creation too. Dudu had a 100% passing, crossing and long ball rate in the first half.
The Blues failed to impress with two-thirds of possession all over the pitch. It would've been a pretty dull first half if not for their Brazilian counterparts, stirring things up once in a while. Nevertheless, both teams were quite wasteful in the final third leading to a goal drought for the first 45 minutes.
#2 Chelsea's record-signing creates history and amends his recent shortcomings
Totally against the tide in the 55th minute, an inch-perfect Hudson-Odoi cross was met by an unmarked Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian made no mistake in opening the scoring for the night. This was Chelsea's first ever goal in a FIFA Club World Cup final. The Blues had previously lost the CWC final by a 1-0 margin back in 2012 against Corinthians.
It was also a much-needed boost for the entire Londoners' squad, as this was the most threatening attack by them in the 55 minutes of action. The goal was also followed by a flurry of meaningful chances by the English club.
To put some perspective on this goal, Lukaku has worked hard to make amends for his fallout with the club's coaching staff over the past few months. He gave an interview criticizing Tuchel's system and expressing his desire to rejoin his former club, Inter Milan. This had also resulted in him losing part of Chelsea's fan-base.
But with his goals in both the semi-final and final of the CWC, the Belgian will surely be lauded by the supporters for his efforts.
Lukaku was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in the 77th minute as German international Timo Werner took up his teammate's position.