Palmer stars as Chelsea stun PSG to win Club World Cup final
NEW JERSEY
Cole Palmer scored two goals and made another as Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup on Sunday, beating the European champions 3-0 before lifting the trophy alongside U.S. President Donald Trump.
PSG were the favourites after coming to the United States fresh from winning the Champions League and having destroyed Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals.
But having been three goals ahead early on in the semis, this time the roles were reversed as PSG found themselves 3-0 down by the break.
Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes.
A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball.
"Being Club World Cup champion is something for us to be proud of. We are very happy, especially against a team in PSG who I consider the best in the world with one of the best managers in the world," said Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, before hailing match-winner Palmer.
"These are the games where we expect Cole to appear because it is a big game, a big moment, and once again he showed how good he is."
Before Chelsea got to lift the trophy, tensions spilled over at full-time with players facing off on the pitch and Paris coach Luis Enrique raising his arm to the neck of Joao Pedro.
"There was a lot of pushing and shoving. It was a situation that obviously should have been avoided, but my intention was clearly just to try to separate the players," said Luis Enrique.
The scoreline was one few could have predicted as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season — they are the first ever winners of the 32-team Club World Cup having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League.
They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it.
For PSG, meanwhile, the financial rewards are similar but there will be genuine disappointment at falling short of adding this title to their Champions League triumph and French league and cup double.
Nevertheless, conquering Europe was always the main aim this season for Luis Enrique's team, who now have exactly a month to digest this and take a holiday before returning to action in the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.
There was a real sense of occasion at the MetLife Stadium, with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and with Trump in attendance along with First Lady Melania Trump in a crowd of 81,118.
For the second time in six weeks PSG found themselves involved in a final that quickly turned into a one-sided affair.
The club claimed a historic 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but here they were ripped apart by Chelsea.
The opening goal came in the 22nd minute as Malo Gusto got the better of Nuno Mendes down the right before seeing his shot blocked by Lucas Beraldo. The ball came back to Gusto and he teed up Palmer to finish into the bottom-left corner.
Palmer has been the face of Chelsea on billboards in the United States during the tournament and he lived up to his star status by scoring again on the half-hour.
Released on the right with PSG left-back Mendes out of position, Palmer advanced towards the box before stroking a low shot into the same corner.
Joao Pedro played a part in the build-up to that goal and the Brazilian, signed during the tournament from Brighton, then got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-0.
Scorer of both goals against Fluminense in the semi-finals, he clipped a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma after being supplied by Palmer.
PSG had conceded a single goal in their previous eight matches and they never really looked like producing a comeback, even if Neves headed just wide in first-half stoppage time.
Substitute Liam Delap almost got a fourth for Chelsea midway through the second half, before Neves was shown red to complete a bad day for PSG.
Boos and applause for Trump
The U.S. president was front and center as the winners took to the stage, grinning broadly in his red tie and clapping and jumping with the players as the jubilant Blues lifted the gleaming trophy, which he had presented to captain Reece James.
But moments earlier, loud booing could be heard among cheers and applause as Trump walked onto the pitch for the presentation with FIFA president Gianni Infantino — before the music in the stadium was turned up.
Earlier, the Republican billionaire was also applauded as he and First Lady Melania Trump arrived for the match at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, just outside New York City.
But when a jumbotron screen briefly showed Trump saluting to the U.S. national anthem, yet more boos could be heard in the giant stadium, before the camera quickly cut away.
The scorn did little to dampen the president's spirits as he handed out trophies to the star players including the Golden Ball for best player to Cole Palmer, followed by handshakes and medals to the defeated Paris Saint-Germain.
He later called the crowd "tremendous."
"We had a great time," he told reporters as he landed at Joint Base Andrews outside the U.S. capital Washington after the match.
The Republican's appearance at the game also came on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt that he survived at an election rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump has made no secret of his desire to use this year's club championship and next year's 2026 World Cup as symbols of the "Golden Age of America" during his second term in the White House.
Next year's World Cup, the final of which will be held at the same stadium, will coincide with the 250th anniversary of America's independence.
Trump has even set up a White House task force to ensure next year's championship — hosted jointly with Canada and Mexico — goes smoothly.
