“I said I was going to win it for Diogo and André ” – Pedro Neto dedicates Chelsea’s 3-0 win over PSG to Jota and Andre Silva, as Neves sees red | OneFootball

Chelsea 3-0 Paris Saint-Germain

Pedro Neto dedicated his victory with Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday to Diogo Jota and André Silva, after the Blues impressively thrashed Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey.

Two goals inside the first half hour from star man Cole Palmer capped an energetic start by the Blues with a 2-0 lead. When João Pedro added a third shortly before half time, the match was all but over as a contest in the afternoon summer heat at the MetLife Stadium, with João Neves’ late red card the talking point of the second period.

Nuno Mendes has been an exceptional performer for PSG this season, but Chelsea targeted his side of the defence in the first period, to much reward. For the first goal, Mendes misjudged the flight of a long ball into the channel and his soft header put Malo Gusto into a dangerous area, leading to a pull back for Palmer to score with a cool finish.

The second goal was almost identical in execution from Palmer. The build-up again saw huge space in behind Mendes, with PSG scarcely covering his forward runs. Vitinha will feel he could have done more to prevent Palmer shifting the ball onto his favoured left foot, after which the Englishman was precise with his finish into the far corner. Palmer teed up João Pedro for the third having again enjoyed remarkable space in the right channel.

Neves sees red

Neves was sent off late on at the culmination of an ongoing spat with full-back Marc Cucurella. Neves had tangled with the Spaniard in the first half and with his side destined for defeat, the Portugal midfielder’s instinctive decision to grab his Cucurella’s hair off the ball was reviewed by VAR and led to his dismissal five minutes from time.

More positively, Neto has been an impressive performer for Chelsea during the tournament, starting six of the Blues’ seven matches and scoring three goals. Deployed at left wing-back for the final, Neto was pleased when speaking to DAZN after the match, where he paid tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who were killed in a car accident earlier this month.

“It’s unbelievable the way we worked, unbelievable the way we finish the tournament with this win,” said the former Braga and Wolves man. “We are really happy about it. It’s the best feeling, to be out here with these teammates, with this club, to win these types of trophies is an unbelievable thing.

“I just want more and more, that is my mentality. I’m here to win titles for this club and these special teammates. And I hope we can go for more. PSG? Tactically we did much better than them. The way we fought, the way we did things was unbelievable today.

“And like I said before, I said I was going to win it for Diogo and André and I’m happy I did it. This one was for them and his family and we are really happy about it.”