Chelsea beats Paris Saint-Germain to win title

Chelsea 3, PSG 0

Cole Palmer scored twice and fed João Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 yesterday [Macau time] in the final of the first expanded Club World Cup.

Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes, then sent a through pass that enabled João Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43d for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.

A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.

PSG finished a man short after João Neves was given a red card in the 84th minute for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair. After a testy final few minutes in a game with six yellow cards, the teams needed to be separated as PSG coach Luis Enrique and Donnarumma pushed João Pedro near the center circle.

A heavy favorite who had outscored opponents 16-1, PSG had been looking to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.

Before a tournament-high crowd of 81,188 at MetLife Stadium that included U.S. President Donald Trump, Chelsea showed the energy of a fourth day of rest after its semifinal, one more than PSG. Trump was booed when he walked on the field for the postgame awards, then posed with Chelsea players after he and FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed the trophy to captain Reece James.

Chelsea had finished fourth in the Premier League and won the third-tier UEFA Conference League. The Blues took the world title for the second time after 2021, when it was an seven-team event. The Blues earned $128,435,000 to $153,815,000 in prize money, the amount depending on a participation fee FIFA has not disclosed.

PSG had not lost by three goals since a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Newcastle in October 2023.

Key moments

Chelsea went ahead in the 22nd after goalkeeper Robert Sánchez kicked the ball downfield and Nuno Mendes mis-hit his header 15 yards past the midfield stripe toward his own goal. Malo Gusto’s shot was blocked by Lucas Beraldo and rebounded to Palmer, who ended PSG’s streak of 436 minutes without conceding.

Palmer doubled the lead in the 30th when he ran onto a long ball from Levi Colwill, cut inside before shooting.

Takeaways

Chelsea heads into the 2025-26 season, which starts in less than five weeks, believing it can challenge Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal for the Premier League title.

They said it

“It’s a great feeling. Even better because obviously everyone doubted us before the game. … The gaffer put a great gameplan out and obviously, he knew where the space was going to be.” — Palmer

“They had a lot of energy. … I believe they were actually better than we were.” — Enrique through a translator. MDT/AP

Scuffle breaks out at end as Enrique, Donnarumma confront João Pedro

A scuffle broke out after the end of the Club World Cup final with Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma appearing to push Chelsea forward João Pedro.

Chelsea upset PSG 3-0 to win the title, scoring three first-half goals in a match that turned testy with a red card to PSG’s João Neves for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair, along with six yellow cards.

Enrique was on the field near the center circle and appeared to push João Pedro on the throat. Donnarumma shoved the 23-year-old forward, who fell over.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca moved away Donnarumma, a fellow Italian.

“This was completely avoidable at the end,” Enrique said through a translator. “My goal and my objective as always, try to separate the footballers to avoid greater problems. There is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure, and there was a whole bunch of pushing that was going on by many people.”

PSG defender Achraf Hakimi had been gesturing at João Pedro and Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos.

“I saw players surrounding him,” João Pedro said of Santos. “Like a good Brazilian, I went to protect a friend. A lot of people were there and it ended up with me getting pushed. These things happen. They don’t know how to lose. Now it’s time to celebrate.”

Maresca said he wasn’t aware of how the fracas started.

“I saw that something was going on, but I don’t know what happened,” he said. MDT/AP