🔎 Winners and losers as Chelsea crush PSG in Club World Cup Final | OneFootball

Chelsea stunned Champions League holders PSG with a commanding 3-0 win at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to become champions of the revamped 32‑team FIFA Club World Cup.

Enzo Maresca’s men produced a near-flawless performance over 90 minutes that left Luis Enrique’s side shocked come the full-time whistle in a match where many pegged the French giants as likely winners on the back of their impressive season to date.

What will go down as a masterclass in precision, organization, and execution - and a definitive moment marking Chelsea’s continued improvement under the Argentine - here are the winners and losers from the Club World Cup final.

Winners 🎉

Cole Palmer

The Chelsea star looks to be back at his best after an influential display this afternoon, opening the scoring in the 22nd minute and doubling the lead eight minutes later. Setting up João Pedro’s strike before half-time was the icing on the cake for the former Man City academy graduate.

Despite another summer of spending from the Blues, Palmer remains the vital attacking focal point for Maresca, and a budding partnership with new boy João Pedro could ultimately see him improve further in the upcoming 2025/26 season.

João Pedro

Scored the third goal with a chipped finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma. Despite his late arrival into the Blues set-up after completing his summer move from Brighton, the Brazilian forward has likely immediately forced his way into the starting XI on evidence of his appearances since arriving.

Enzo Maresca

It was a tactical masterstroke on the day from the Chelsea manager, platforming his team to allow for a polished, high-press focused performance while looking deadly in transition.

While some will dismiss the tournament, there is no denying that optics have not only shifted on the summer of football on the whole, but evidence of Chelsea's improvement under Maresca will push fans to believe something special may be brewing at Stamford Bridge.

Losers 😞

PSG

Not only were they the literal losers come the end of full-time, but PSG's overall performance was in stark contrast to what the footballing world has seen from them, not just at the Club World Cup, but during their run to Champions League honours.

Despite boasting 66% of the ball, the French giants struggled to craft any chance of real note in the opening 45 minutes of action. It was a sterile performance from start to finish, with PSG failing to kick into gear in the final third in a way they are usually accustomed.

The vaunted attacking trio

Previously viewed as quite possibly the best front three, at least in terms of form, in Europe coming into the summer, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and club starlet Désiré Doué were almost invisible on the pitch at MetLife.

Apart from one chance where Doué had a chance to test Chelsea shot-stopper Robert Sánchez and instead opted to square a pass that was ultimately dealt with, the vaunted front three did little to really pull the Blues out of their comfort zone.

History suggests that this is more of a one-off anomaly rather than a trend that looks set to continue, but when it mattered on the day, they failed to hit the same level that saw them conquer Europe just weeks ago.

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