Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku rises above the crowd to score the opener in the Club World Cup final against Palmeiras. The ball can be seen at the left side of the frame. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Chelsea outlasts Palmeiras in OT to claim ‘world title’
Chelsea players celebrate with their trophy after winning the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup by defeating Brazil’s Palmeiras. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
Kai Havertz converted a penalty kick in overtime to earn Chelsea its first-ever FIFA Club World Cup trophy.
The reigning UEFA Champions League champs edged Brazil’s Palmeiras – the Copa Libertadores holders – 2-1 in a rugged match that Chelsea dominated statistically (71% possession).
The Blues struggled to unlock the Palmeiras defense, however, and the game appeared headed for a penalty kick shoot-out until the unfortunate handball by Luan García. Aussie ref Chris Beath was alerted to the foul by VAR and the video evidence allowed him to make the call quickly.
Havertz sent goalie Weverton the wrong way and the Blues saw out the remaining 3 minutes to become world club champions.
Chelsea avenges 2012 loss
Romelu Lukaku put the EPL side in the lead in minute 55 thanks to an offensive move led by Mateo Kovacic, of all people.
The Croat hardman got the ball from N’Golo Kante on the left side, dribbled past a Palmeiras defender then sent a perfect lead pas to Callum Hudson-Odoi who zipped a cross into the middle of the box where Lukaku rose above his marker and headed home powerfully.
The Chelsea lead did not even last 10 minutes after VAR buzzed down to Beath to look at a replay of a Palmeiras free kick. The video clearly showed Blues defender Thiago handling the ball in the box and the ref pointed to the spot. Raphael Veiga thumped the ball past Eduaord Mendy to knot the score at 1-1.
The Blues pressed forward looking for the winner, but the Palmeiras defense was error-free … until the inadvertent handball in the dying minutes.
The victory gave Chelsea its first-ever Club World Cup trophy, avenging its loss to Brazilian side Corinthians in the 2012 final. Saturday’s match in Abu Dhabi was the fifth time a Club World Cup final went into overtime, and the first since Liverpool overcame Brazil’s Flamengo by a 1-0 score in 2019.
Egypt’s Al Ahly (the club that stunned Monterrey in the quarterfinals) won the third-place medal after routing Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 4-0. The Saudi team had two men red-carded in the first half and Al Ahly cruised to victory.
