Latest from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in Philadelphia. Chelsea have reached the semis after a 2-1 win over Palmeiras of Brazil. Data from The New York Times’ Athletic, July 5 2025. Let’s get into it.
The game was at Lincoln Financial Field, a rematch of the 2022 Club World Cup final where Chelsea beat Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time. Chelsea scored first despite Palmeiras looking for revenge. Chelsea took the lead early when Cole Palmer scored a beautiful goal in the 16th minute. His finish was perfect, he’s the 10th Englishman to score in the tournament this year. The first half was all Chelsea, they had plenty of chances. Noni Madueke almost doubled the lead when his shot hit the post and was saved by Palmeiras’ goalkeeper Weverton.
Palmeiras came back in the second half. 18 year old winger Estevao who will be playing for Chelsea after the tournament scored a great goal in the 53rd minute, surprising his future team. He levelled the score 1-1 with a shot from a tight angle. Chelsea’s defence was all over the place with Estevao’s pace and skill on the left wing. Fans were loving his performance knowing he’ll be wearing Chelsea blue soon.
It looked like extra time was coming but Chelsea got a break in the 83rd minute. Malo Gusto crossed the ball and it bounced off Palmeiras’ defender Bruno Fuchs and then Weverton and rolled into the net for an own goal. Chelsea held on to their 2-1 lead, thanks to the bounce, until the end. Robert Sanchez made a crucial save to seal the win by blocking a powerful shot from Palmeiras’ Mauricio.
Chelsea will now face another Brazilian team, Fluminense, in the semis on Tuesday in New York. They beat Palmeiras here but lost to Flamengo in the group stage, they’ve now played three of the four Brazilian teams in the tournament. The win came at a cost. Both Levi Colwill and Liam Delap will miss the semi final due to suspensions picked up by yellow cards. The game was also affected by substitutions. Richard Rios replaced Raphael Veiga for Palmeiras and Dario Essugo came on for Andrey Santos who had a great game for Chelsea.
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Maresca praised his team. “As we expected, it was a tough game,” he said to DAZN after the match. Because we are at the end of our season and they are at the beginning, we needed a lot of energy. Maresca called this a big moment for his young team, who won the Conference League recently. These big games are helping Chelsea’s young players to gel. As we wrote in the article, Leo G. is a fan who says these games are a “massive luxury” for Chelsea’s young players to play together.
Estevao showed why Chelsea signed him and Palmeiras put up a good fight. But Chelsea’s pressure was too much for their defence to handle. Chelsea won the tie by creating more chances, as the stats showed. Even with the determination of Palmeiras’ players, including former MLS star Facundo Torres, the late deflection proved to be the decisive moment.
There has been a lot of drama in this Club World Cup. After a two hour weather delay, Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in their previous game which went to extra time. They are one step closer to the title but Fluminense will be tough. Given the dominance of Brazilian teams in this competition, Tuesday’s semi-final is a must watch.
Mark Phury is a dynamic sports enthusiast with a knack for capturing the thrill of the game. With 3 years at Hindustan Times, he delivers sharp, engaging stories that resonate with fans. Reach him at markphury@gmail.com for insights that score every time.