Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain will join Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday after the Blues defeated Fluminense in their semi-final on Tuesday.
Fluminense bow out of the competition after being the only non-European team to advance to the semi-finals.
The UEFA Conference League winners took the lead in the 18th minute through new signing João Pedro, who was making his first start and his second appearance for Chelsea. Pedro Neto’s cross was not properly dealt with, only falling as far as his new teammate, who had time to line up his shot before curling the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the area.
The Br azilian further added to his former club’s woes as he netted a second in the 56th minute, polishing off a pristine counter-attack from the Blues. Pedro is a product of Fluminense’s academy and played 36 games for the first team before moving to Watford in 2020. He did not celebrate scoring against his former Club.
"I think it was a dream first start. I don’t think it could have been better. Two goals, now we have to think about the final. I’m very happy," the striker told DAZN after the match.
"I’m happy to score my first goal, but also I know this tournament is very important for [Fluminense]. I can just say sorry but I have to be professional. I play for Chelsea, they pay me to score goals," he said.
Paris Saint-Germain will face Real Madrid on Wednesday at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the right to face Chelsea in the final.
Real Madrid advanced past Borussia Dortmund to the semi-finals after a scrappy stoppage-time period at the end of the game. Madrid led 2-0 going into added time before Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time. Mbappe responded two minutes later with a goal of his own before Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy slotted a penalty, the final score being 3-2.
Madrid will be without new defender Dean Huijsen, who picked up a red card in stoppage time against Dortmund. Nonetheless, Los Blancos will aim to remain unbeaten in the competition and advance to the final.
PSG defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in their quarterfinal, despite being reduced to nine men. Willian Pacho was sent off in the 82nd minute with Lucas Hernández following 10 minutes later. Both players will not be able to face Real Madrid.
The club’s star forwards Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé both netted against Bayern, with Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi assisting Dembélé.
The European champions face a tough task in their quest to be crowned world champions.