In a thrilling quarterfinal match, Chelsea defeated Palmeiras to advance to the semifinals of the FIFA Club World
- Mario Amaya
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
The FIFA Club World Cup has delivered some competitive games throughout the tournament. Friday night was not going to be the exception, as both Palmeiras and Chelsea were fighting for more than just pride; they were playing for their right to remain in the competition and for a berth in the semifinals that would be played midweek in Northern New Jersey.
In another thrilling game, where physicality, chippy play, and dangerous goalscoring opportunities were abundant, a game was being played with the backdrop of fireworks being shot in the distance in celebration of the 4th of July in Philadelphia as 75,782 fans packed Lincoln Financial Field witnessed Chelsea defeat Palmeiras in a thrilling affair by the score of 2-1 Friday night.
“I think we have the feeling that we could have advanced in the competition because of everything we showed, especially in the second half,” Palmeira's goalkeeper Weverton, said. “But this is football, and football doesn’t always go as planned, as we expect. I think we have to emphasize the team’s fight — yes, we fought for the win until the end.”
The Game
As seen throughout most matches throughout the world this weekend, there was a moment of silence held in memory for both Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who both passed away in a car accident on Thursday. Chelsea midfielder Pedro Neto came out with a jersey with the names of both players in their memory.
Chelsea had the first goal-scoring chance of the game in the 3rd minute, after a Cole Palmer shot from distance tested Weverton, the goalkeeper, early. However, he was able to get his hands on the shot. Chelsea was then able to win the rebound and force a corner kick.
Chelsea would open up in the 16th minute, as Palmer received a pass from Trevoh Chalobah. The England international received the ball close to the top of the box and drove the ball towards Palmeiras' area, dribbling the ball past two Palmeiras defenders, placing the ball in the lower left corner of Weverton’s net to give “The Blues” the lead early in the first half.
“It's a privilege to be able to play against these teams, like Chelsea,” said Palmeira's head coach Abel Ferriera. “I leave the impression that they are capable of doing the same thing differently, and surprising the opponent, like we did, for example, against Botafogo. And I managed to correct it within. It's almost like a tactical game, these coaches who have the ability within the game itself to change the dynamics, while maintaining the same structure. I think we fought well. We made the corrections we had to make, and we got into the game. It was a shame, it was hard, it was really hard the way we suffered, we conceded the second goal when we could have and deserved to have gone to extra time. But that's how it is, football is like that. I don't think we'll have another experience from here. Our dream is over.”
Chelsea continued pressing and creating goal-scoring opportunities, but their chances would be stifled by Palmeiras' defense or just miss their mark.
Palmeiras found their best chance to tie the game a couple of minutes from halftime when a cross from Agustín Giay found Vanderlan inside the box; however, the defender’s header would fall into the hands of Robert Sánchez.
Palmeiras would find their way back into the game thanks to their young starlet and, next to join Chelsea after the tournament, Estêvão. It was the 51st minute when Palmeiras' midfield forced Chelsea into giving the ball away, the ball fell to Richard Rios, who laid the ball off to Giay, who played the ball to Estêvão. After a series of rebounds, Rios played a low cross to the 18-year-old forward. Estêvão beat the mark of Levi Colwill and placed the shot that pinged off the top of the post and past Sánchez, sending the Palmeiras faithful into a frenzy and bringing the game level.
After the game, Palmer and Estêvão met in the middle of the pitch to talk and shake hands. On what his future teammate told him and what his impressions of the Brazilian forward were, Palmer said.
“I just said ‘We look forward to seeing you’ but he didn’t understand a word I said, apparently.” Said Palmer, “He’s a top player and he’s only young as well. When it comes to England, people need to give him time to adapt to the culture and the language. He’s still only 18, but you can see he’s got amazing quality, and we look forward to seeing him.”
Palmeiras threatened to score a second goal later in the half when Paulinho played a ball in the box to Maurício, as he sent a low cross across the goal intended for Vitor Roque, Colwill got in front of the cross and cleared the ball for a corner kick.
In the 82nd minute on a short corner, Palmer sent a pass to Malo Gusto inside the box. Gusto shot the ball towards goal, but his shot bounced off the foot of Giay and the arm of Weverton and into the back of the net near post to give Chelsea the lead. The action was ruled an own goal, and FIFA world credit Giay with the own goal.
Chelsea will now travel to East Rutherford, NJ, to face another Brazilian team opponent in Fluminense. This will be the third time Chelsea faces Brazilian opposition in this tournament, having played Flamengo in the group stages, falling to them 3-1, in a match that was also played in Philadelphia.
“I think they have a high level, and they’re showing it in this tournament,” said Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella. “Now we have another surely tough match against Fluminense. … We’ve played two Brazilian teams so far, now we’ll face a third, and you can see they won't stop fighting.”
Fluminense advanced to the semifinals after defeating Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal 2-1 in the first quarterfinal in Orlando, FL earlier in the day.
The semi-final match between Chelsea and Fluminense will take place Tuesday night at MetLife Stadium. The venue will also host the Final of the FIFA Club World Cup on July 13th.
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