Cole Palmer Leads the Charge as Chelsea Stun Paris Saint-Germain in FIFA Club World Cup Final
- Daniel Rebain
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Photo credit: Calvin Hernandez
East Rutherford, NJ — The stage was set Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in front of 81,118 spectators, as FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump were in attendance to witness the first Club World Cup Final under the new 32-team format.
After a month in the United States and six games to reach this point in the tournament, Chelsea FC would flip the script on Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain to pull off an unexpected 3-0 victory with the New York skyline overlooking the Meadowlands.
Coming into the match, PSG was a heavily favored team at -135 on sports books, with Chelsea running as the underdog at +370. Chelsea must not have received the memo, because they were anything but underdogs in the final.
Head coach of Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, pulled off a tactical masterclass Sunday afternoon. They took the game to PSG and punched the French side multiple times in the mouth early, and it was too much for them to overcome in the end. Chelsea sealed the upset when Iranian referee Alireza Faghani blew his whistle for full time, and the celebrations began.
Chelsea captain Reece James said he knew his side would "surprise" people in the final. "Maybe impossible for you, but not to us," James said. "I said that we would surprise a lot of people, and I think we did that today. Everyone is shocked, but we knew how far we've come, how good our players are, and I'm happy for everyone."
The star of the final was Chelsea attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, who was named "man of the match". The 23-year-old, who grew up in Wythenshawe just outside of Manchester, was a dominant force down the right wing for the Blues, scoring twice and providing the assist to Joao Pedro to put Chelsea up 3-0 before the teams headed into the locker rooms.
Palmer terrorized Nuno Mendes and Lucas Beraldo for 90 minutes, with all three of Chelsea’s goals coming down the left side of PSG's defense. Simply put, PSG had no answer to Palmer cutting inside on his stronger left foot. "I just try to do my job every time I go on the pitch and hopefully it can continue," said Palmer post-game.
Chelsea held onto their 3-0 lead throughout the second 45 minutes thanks to an excellent defensive structure and a handful of key saves from Robert Sanchez, who received the "Golden Gloves" for best goalkeeper at the tournament.
Maresca called this victory in the Club World Cup bigger than the Champions League. “I told my players I have a feeling this competition could become just as important or even more important than the Champions League. This competition, encompassing the best teams in the world, is as important as the Champions League for us, or even more important."
It wasn't PSG that imposed their will to begin the match on Chelsea with their high pressing, like they have done all tournament long, but it was the exact opposite, with Chelsea coming out of the gates on the front foot.
A nice little passing play between Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández, and João Pedro ended with Pedro's backheel flick to Cole Palmer, whose shot went just wide of the left post and off the back stanchion, which sent all the Chelsea supporters into a frenzy, thinking they had taken a 1-0 lead.
After the first ten minutes of the game, it seemed like PSG had found their legs and they were now knocking on the door. A Nuno Mendes first-time pass played Fabio Ruiz open down the left wing and found Desire Doue at the back post for a potential two-on-one with Achraf Hakimi.
Instead of taking the open lane towards the goal, Doue attempted to cut the ball back over to Hakimi just at the top of the six-yard box, which would have been an easy tap-in to take the lead. It was the wrong decision as Marc Cucurella, once again this tournament, saved a goal for Chelsea and got a foot in the passing lane to clear the danger.
PSG had another chance to make it 1-0 just three minutes later. Ousmane Dembele coming inside from the left wing forced the defenders to drop, which left Doue once again open just outside the penalty box. Doue, with his pace and dribbling ability, beat Cucurella inside to free himself up for a shot inside the near post.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, diving to his left, was able to get his left hand on the ball and keep the game scoreless. It wouldn't remain scoreless for much longer with Chelsea scoring the opening goal in the 22nd minute.
With Chelsea playing out from the back, Sanchez played a pass over everyone's head to Malo Gusto, who beat Mendes to the ball, and they were off to the races. Lucas Beraldo was able to cut Gusto off in the box and blocked his initial shot.
Bad luck struck the PSG center back as the ball fell back to Gusto, who found an open Cole Palmer arriving late at the top of the box. The English international was not going to miss this time and placed his left-footed shot perfectly inside the left post past a diving Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Chelsea an enormous 1-0 lead.
Things would turn from bad to worse for PSG when Palmer doubled the lead for Chelsea at the half-hour mark. Another over-the-top ball down the right wing was the downfall for PSG, this time from Levi Colwill to Palmer.
One-on-one with Vitinha, Palmer was again able to get the ball onto his left foot, and what he did next was world-class. His patience with the ball led the PSG defenders to freeze, and with one little fake pass to Joao Pedro, Palmer ended up in the exact spot where he scored the first goal, beating a helpless Donnarumma for a second time.
“To score the goals was a great feeling,” Palmer said. “But I think the way the team showed fire out there… I just try to do my job every time I go out onto the pitch. Hopefully that continues.”
Chelsea would keep their foot on the accelerator and make it 3-0 in the 43rd minute when Joao Pedro scored his third goal in two games. Palmer was feeling generous after his two goals and dissected PSG's defensive line with a pass to send Pedro through on goal before chipping Donnarumma and adding insult to injury. Chelsea was running away with things just before the halftime whistle sounded.
In the second half, holding a 3-0 lead, Chelsea bunkered down in front of Robert Sanchez and hit PSG on the counterattack when the opportunity presented itself. With the structure that Chelsea had established in their final third, it presented a serious challenge for PSG and its star attacking talent to break down.
Chances came sparingly in the second half, but PSG failed to capitalize on the chances they created from any breakdowns in the Chelsea defensive third.
In the 52nd minute, Desire Doue was able to get a cross into the box after slicing through both Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella. The ball would be deflected into the path of Ousmane Dembele, who was able to get a scuffed right-footed shot on target that was heading for the bottom left corner.
Robert Sanchez had other plans. With his quick reflexes, Sanchez was able to get a right hand on the ball and parry the ball away for Malo Gusto to boot the ball into the stands.
If you want any representation of the day PSG had, you'll find it in the 89th minute with their last chance to get a goal on the board. Bradley Barcola beat his defender down to the wing and was able to squeeze his cross through the box to Goncalo Ramos at the back post for an easy tap-in.
Instead, the ball bounced off Ramos' knees as he tried to control it, and Cucurella was able to clear the danger. Nothing went right for Paris today at the Meadowlands.
Referee Alireza Faghani blew his whistle for full time, and Chelsea were once again Club World Cup champions, winning the tournament for the second time this decade (2021 & 2025).
Chelsea officially capped off one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history, knocking off Paris Saint-Germain, the same team that beat Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League Final just a few months ago.
“Being FIFA Club World Champions is something that we ought to be proud of,” Maresca said. “We are very happy, especially against a club like PSG. I consider them the best in the world, with one of the best managers in the world, and fantastic players. Today has been a top, top achievement.”
Tensions Boil Over
As the game started to wind down, PSG seemed to give up on trying to score goals and instead resorted to fouling Chelsea players whenever they had the chance. From the 80th minute on, PSG were shown three cards, including a red card to Joao Neves for pulling Cucurella's hair.
The bad blood continued and spilled over after full time. A scuffle broke out between Gianluigi Donnarumma, Luis Enrique, and João Pedro. Enrique appeared to "smack" Pedro in the face after attempting to grab the Brazilian. After a few minutes of chaos at midfield, the situation calmed down, and both teams were finally separated from one another.
Talking about the incident in his post-game press conference, here's what Enrique had to say.
“My goal and my objective is always to separate footballers from greater problems,” Enrique, attempting to play damage control, said. “There was a lot of tension. I was trying to avoid any tension. I have no problem about expressing my feelings at the end of a game. I want to make it possible that my footballers don’t go to those extremes. This could have been avoided.”
No cards were handed out by Faghani, and both teams moved on with Chelsea giving PSG a "guard of honor" as the players went to receive their runner-up medals.
President Trump Joins Trophy Presentation
The celebrations started when FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump made their way onto the field. Both men handed out the runner-up and winner's medals to the players. They also walked the new Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James.
Customarily, Infantino walked off the stage, but President Trump stayed on the stage to celebrate with Chelsea. After a few seconds of hesitation, James went along with and lifted the trophy as glitter rained down from the sky.
Cole Palmer said he was "confused" by the situation. James was seen asking the President, "Are you staying?" and Robert Sanchez seemed to encourage James to lift the trophy with Trump standing there.
FIFA also announced the 2025 Club World Cup Awards following the match. Here were the winners:
Top goal scorer - Gonzalo Garcia (Real Madrid)
Young Player of the Tournament - Desire Doue (PSG)
Golden Glove - Robert Sanchez (Chelsea)
Golden Ball - Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Match Facts
Chelsea: 4-2-3-1 (HC: Enzo Maresca)
Robert Sanchez (GK): Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto; Moises Caicedo, Reece James; Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto; Joao Pedro
Bench: Marc Guiu, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Liam Delap, Tyrique George, Romeo Lavia, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Andrey Santos, Tosin Abarabioyo, Aaron Anselmino, Josh Acheampong, Mamadou Sarr, Filip Jorgensen, Gabriel Slonina, Mike Penders
Paris Saint-Germain: 4-3-3 (HC: Luis Enrique)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK): Nuno Mendes, Lucas Beraldo, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi; Fabio Ruiz, Vitinha, Joao Neves; Khvicha Kvaraskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue
Bench: Kang-in Lee, Ibrahim Mbaye, Goncalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Senny Mayulu, Gabriel Moscardo, Presnel Kimpembe, Kamara, Matvey Safonov, Arnau Tenas
Scoring Summary (Chelsea/Paris Saint-Germain)
22': Cole Palmer (1-0)
30': Cole Palmer (2-0)
43': Joao Pedro (3-0)
Stats (Chelsea/Paris Saint-Germain)
Possession: 34% - 66%
Shots: 10 (5) - 8 (6)
Big Chances: 3 - 2
Expected Goals (xG): 2.06 - 0.53
Passing: 243 (81%) - 544 (91%)
Fouls: 15 - 12
Corners: 3 - 5
Discipline
34': Pedro Neto (Yellow)
36': Moises Caicedo (Yellow)
40': Malo Gusto (Yellow)
81': Levi Colwill (Yellow)
85': João Neves (Red)
87': Ousmane Dembele (Yellow)
90+4': Nuno Mendes (Yellow)
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