On Sunday, July 13, the final match of the 2025 Club World Cup took place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
In the main event of this revamped FIFA tournament, Chelsea faced off against PSG.
Not many expected to see the "Blues" at this stage, while the presence of the reigning Champions League winners was no surprise. However, the match result turned out to be shocking as the first half determined the fate of the championship.
The French team started the game rather sluggishly, which was quickly exploited by Enzo Maresca's squad. In the 22nd minute, PSG's defense failed to clear a shot from Malo Gusto, leaving the ball for Cole Palmer, who expertly found the back of Gianluigi Donnarumma's net.
Just 8 minutes later, the English midfielder repeated his feat, making it 2-0 for Chelsea.
Even after conceding two goals, the team under Luis Enrique did not seem to wake up, causing them to head into halftime trailing 0-3.
Cole Palmer decided to add an assist to his tally, setting up Joao Pedro, who calmly chipped the ball over Donnarumma after breaking through on goal.
Only Enrique's likely shouts during the break roused the French side, who returned for the second half looking like a different team. They aimed for a quick goal, but Robert Sanchez made several fantastic saves.
As time passed, PSG's chances of a comeback dwindled. Furthermore, the score could have been even greater, but Donnarumma saved two shots from Liam Delap, keeping his team in the game.
Ultimately, PSG's hopes were dashed when Joao Neves lost his cool and was shown a straight red card for tugging at Marc Cucurella's hair.
In the end, the referee's final whistle confirmed Chelsea's resounding victory with a score of 3-0, marking them as the first champions of the Club World Cup in its updated format.
2025 Club World Cup
Final, July 13
Chelsea – PSG 3:0 (3:0)
Goals: 1:0 – 22 Palmer, 2:0 – 30 Palmer, 3:0 – 43 Pedro.
Chelsea: Sanchez – Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella – James (77 Disubery-Hall), Caicedo, Palmer, Fernandez (61 Santos), Neto (77 Nkunku) – Pedro (67 Delap).
PSG: Donnarumma – Hakimi (73 Ramush), Marquinhos, Beraldo, Mendes – Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz (73 Zaire-Emery) – Due (73 Mayulu), Dembele, Kvaratskhelia (58 Barkola).
Yellow cards: Neto, Caicedo, Gusto, Colwill – Dembele, Mendes.
Red card: 84 Neves (PSG, straight red).