Chelsea 2–0 Fluminense: Pedro brace sends Blues into final | OneFootball

Chelsea reached the FIFA Club World Cup final after beating Fluminense 2–0 at the MetLife Stadium on Tuesday night.

João Pedro gave the Blues the lead in the 18th minute with a superb strike. Renato Gaúcho’s side looked to respond and created several chances before the break, but couldn’t find a way through Chelsea’s defence.

Pedro doubled Chelsea’s lead shortly after the break, securing the London side’s place in the final, where they will face either Real Madrid or PSG.

As it happened

Fluminense made an energetic start, taking the game to Chelsea, while the Blues looked to push back with a series of crunching challenges from both sides.

The Brazilian side came into the match aiming to upset the London side, having already beaten Inter Milan and Al-Hilal, and held Borussia Dortmund to an impressive 0-0 draw on their way to the semi-finals.

Enzo Maresca’s men soon settled, gaining control as they pushed for an opener, with Enzo Fernández orchestrating play and putting the Tricolor’s back line under real pressure.

That pressure paid off as João Pedro, on his full debut, curled a stunning effort from distance past Fábio Deivson to fire the London club into the lead.

The chance came after Pedro Neto was released down the left, with his deflected cross falling kindly for the £55 million signing from Brighton.

Gaúcho’s side looked to hit back immediately and came close through Hércules Pereira. The midfielder was played through one-on-one and poked the ball past Robert Sánchez, but Marc Cucurella got back to clear off the line.

The Tricolor kept pressing for an equaliser and thought they had a lifeline in the 35th minute when Trevoh Chalobah was penalised for handball – but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned, much to the frustration of the Fluminense supporters.

The Blues managed the remainder of the half well, taking a deserved lead into the break after a composed showing from the London side

The Conference League champions came out with intent after the break and doubled their lead in the 56th minute through Pedro. The Brazilian continued his fine form, latching onto Enzo Fernández’s through ball from near the halfway line before cutting inside and smashing a shot in off the underside of the bar.

Maresca’s side pushed for a third, with chances falling to Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku, but neither managed to seriously trouble Deivson.

Fluminense searched for a way back into the game but struggled to break down a well-organised Chelsea defence, creating little in the second half.

The Blues saw out the remainder of the game, clinching an impressive 2–0 win to book their place in Sunday night’s final.

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