Joao Pedro Shines Against Former Club as Chelsea Reach Club World Cup Final

Young Brazilian forward Joao Pedro made his debut for Chelsea as a substitute in the previous match. He showed his ability in a short time. This time, he took the spotlight by getting a place in the starting eleven of the English giants for the first time. He scored a brace against his former club Fluminense. With this, Chelsea became the first team to secure a Club World Cup final.

Chelsea won 2-0 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on their way to the Club World Cup final for the third time in their history. Fluminense, of course, was not far behind the 2021 champions in terms of on-field performance. However, the Brazilian club’s past surprises stopped at the goalpost. Joao Pedro, who left Fluminense in 2020, wrote their farewell story. However, the 23-year-old forward could not celebrate despite scoring a goal against his boyhood club.

Statistics from previous matches of the Club World Cup raised concerns about the lack of spectators in the semi-finals. That is why last week, FIFA suddenly reduced the price of tickets from more than 57 thousand taka to 1500 taka. According to the news agency AP, the initiative can be called a success for the world football governing body. Only 10-15 percent of the seats in the 70,556-capacity MetLife were not filled. Chelsea was ahead in possession of the ball in the match. With 54 percent possession, they took 17 shots. Of these, 5 were on target. In contrast, Fluminense managed to put 3 of their 12 shots on target.

Chelsea took the lead for the first time in the 18th minute. Pedro took advantage of a weakness in his former club’s defense and scored with a beautiful curling shot from outside the box. The Brazilian forward immediately raised his hands and apologized to the Fluminense fans for his incompetence in the celebration. Fluminense almost equalized after eight minutes. But Hercules’ shot, taken by the Chelsea goalkeeper, was saved from the goal line by Marc Cucurueira. Before the first half, the Seleção club was awarded a penalty when a Chelsea defender touched the ball. VAR ruled it out as an unintentional handball.

Chelsea scored their second goal 10 minutes into the second half when Pedro scored. This time he was passed a through ball by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Then he entered the D-box and shot from the corner again. His powerful shot hit the crossbar and went in. This time Pedro celebrated by raising both hands in the air. Fluminense, falling behind for the second time, tried hard to get back into the match. In the end, they attacked but could not find the goal.

Chelsea midfielder Moises Caiquedo suffered an ankle injury in stoppage time. Apart from that, the former English champions have nothing to worry about before the final. They will have to fight with the winners of the PSG and Real Madrid matches on their way to winning their second Club World Cup title. The two French and Spanish giants will face each other in the second semi-final tonight (Wednesday). The Club World Cup final will be held next Sunday night.