After 120 minutes, Chelsea defeated Palmeiras 2-1 to win the only competitive trophy to have eluded them in their history, the FIFA Club World Cup.
Kai Havertz, just as he did in the UEFA Champions League final, scored the winning goal to give Chelsea their second trophy of the season.
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Chelsea and Palmeiras began their highly-anticipated FIFA Club World Cup final in the most intense fashion possible, with Thiago Silva shutting down a ‘White-Green’ opportunity straight away, before both Mason Mount and César Azpilicueta nervously went to ground at the other end as Weverton raced off his line in a hectic sequence of play.
The ‘Blues’ managed to earn some much needed momentum back courtesy of Callum Hudson-Odoi’s fantastically whipped in, yet un-capitalized cross to Azpilicueta which saw the first half end in a goalless draw.
As Thomas Tuchel’s men launched into the second half, Romelu Lukaku didn’t miss a beat as he scorched his header into the back of the net 55 minutes in, bagging his second goal of the tournament.
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Almost immediately after Chelsea scored, the ‘Alviverde’ replied in style as Raphael Veiga calmly converted his spot kick into the bottom right corner, after the handball VAR judgment from Chris Beath.
As neither side was able to force through a decisive strike, the match headed into ET. Danilo’s lunging tackle on Azpilicueta was shaky, however Palmeiras breathed a sigh of relief when the ‘Blues’ free kick went awry. As the players evidently began to tire, it seemed like the match would head to penalties.
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However, Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the 117th minute following a lenghty VAR check for handball.
Havertz stepped up to fire home the spot kick to deliver Chelsea their maiden FIFA Club World Cup title.
To add further salt to the Palmeiras wounds, Luan was shown a red card for a late challenge on the goalscorer, following another lengthy VAR review.
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