Summary:
- Chelsea beat PSG 3–0 in the Club World Cup final, with Cole Palmer scoring twice and winning the Golden Ball.
- João Pedro added a third goal as Chelsea controlled the game from start to finish.
- Tensions flared late as PSG finished with 10 men and tempers boiled over after the whistle.
Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Enzo Maresca’s squad secured its second title in the competition and their first since 2021.
Cole Palmer dominated the night, netting twice in the first half and effectively setting the pace for Chelsea’s strong showing.
The 23-year-old forward scored two very similar goals within just eight minutes and celebrated with his signature calm style, much to the delight of the crowd at MetLife Stadium.
Palmer said afterward,
The gaffer put a great game plan out, He knew where there would space and tried to free me up as much as possible. I just had to repay him and score some goals. He [Maresca] is building something special. I feel we’re going in the right direction.
João Pedro, in just his second Chelsea start since his transfer from Brighton, added a third goal before halftime, his third of the tournament.
The atmosphere at MetLife only grew more electric at the break, as a surprise halftime show featured Coldplay alongside J Balvin, Doja Cat, Tems, and Emmanuel Kelly.
While there were no more goals in the second half, Chelsea stayed sharp and never let PSG back into the game.
PSG Was Down to 10 People, Tensions Rose
Frustrations boiled over for the French side late on when João Neves was sent off in the 85th minute for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair, leaving PSG down to 10.
After the final whistle, tensions flared again with a heated exchange between João Pedro and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and manager Luis Enrique.
Luis Enrique appeared to strike João Pedro, catching the Chelsea forward in the face and knocking him to the ground.
Enrique had to be pulled away by his own staff, while Donnarumma also stormed toward Chelsea players in anger. Heated arguments broke out around Pedro as he lay on the turf, adding a sour note to Chelsea’s otherwise emphatic victory.
The chaotic scenes came amid a match that ended with six yellow cards in total plus Joao Neves’s red.
Maresca: “We Won the Game in the First Ten Minutes”
Chelsea who started the competition with little fanfare – players now donned “World Champions” shirts to celebrate the trophy with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and U.S. president Donald Trump on the field, despite a smattering of boos from some fans.
Manager Enzo Maresca praised his squad:
I have no words for the players. For me, we won the game in the first ten minutes. We set the tempo, we knew the way we wanted to play. The effort from all the players has been fantastic.
Palmer was named player of the tournament, winning the Golden Ball, while goalkeeper Robert Sánchez earned the Golden Glove. PSG’s Désiré Doué was recognized as the best young player.
PSG’s bid for a quadruple fell short in bitter fashion. “There is a lot of tension, and a lot of pressure” Enrique said afterward. “This was just the end result of the pressure from the match”.
Chelsea is now getting ready for the upcoming EPL season, while PSG will turn its focus to next month’s UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham.