Blue is the color, football is the game, and now Chelsea can add FIFA Club World Cup champion to their name.
Chelsea stunned European champion Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final in a 3-0 victory, capping the first year of the newly formatted tournament in front of a crowd of 81,118 at MetLife Stadium.
The largely pro-Chelsea crowd erupted when the game ended and the club’s signature “Blue is the Colour” song blared throughout the stadium.
The surprise victory came amid a dominant run by PSG during the length of the tournament, which included wins over Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as they paved their way to the final. But it was the foot of star Cole Palmer that gave Chelsea the lead and breakout star João Pedro who scored his third goal of the tournament to put the game away before the first half even came to an end.
Palmer came within inches of scoring in the eighth minute when his shot sailed just to the right of the post, but redeemed himself with an impressive goal in the 22nd minute, finessing the ball past PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into the corner of the net.
In the 30th minute, the Chelsea star received a good lead pass and then showed off why he’s one of the club’s best players, moving the ball to the top of the box to score in the same spot as his first goal.
Pedro extended the Chelsea lead to three when he chipped the ball past Donnarumma from in front of the net after Palmer helped set up the play with a crisp pass up to Pedro in the box.
By the time the halftime whistle sounded, the already raucous Chelsea fans were ecstatic, chanting and partying inside the MetLife Stadium concourse while an American-style halftime show took place, which included J Balvin, Doja Cat and a surprise appearance by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
The Club World Cup showdown marked the first competitive match between Chelsea and PSG since 2016 and prior to Sunday’s win, Chelsea had been victorious only two other times against the French powerhouse in the 10 matches the two clubs have played against one another.
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The match featured plenty of chippiness as PSG midfielder João Neves was given a red card for pulling the hair of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella in the second half.
After the game, a brief shoving match occurred and several players had to be separated before the trophy ceremony.
The newly revamped tournament ended in a way that FIFA had to have liked, with a lively atmosphere for most of the afternoon and a star-studded guest list of VIPs in the stands that included President Donald Trump.
Now the full focus turns to the 2026 World Cup that is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the global event ending nearly a year from Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
One of the lasting takeaways from the Club World Cup that could impact the operations of next year’s World Cup was how hot things can be on matchdays. Sunday’s final was played in temperatures in the high 80s and matches earlier in the tournament had been played in 90-degree temps.
“Every criticism we receive is a source for us to study and analyse what can do better,” Infantino told reporters the day before the Club World Cup final. “Of course the heat is an issue. Last year, at the Olympic Games in Paris, games during the day, in all sports, took place in very hot conditions. Cooling breaks are very important and we will see what we can do, but we have stadiums with roofs and we will definitely use these stadiums during the day next year.”
