Chelsea beats Fluminense 2-0 to reach Club World Cup final
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — João Pedro scored twice against his boyhood team in his first start for Chelsea, leading the Blues over Fluminense 2-0 Tuesday to assure an all-European Club World Cup final.
A 23-year-old who had been at Fluminense from about age 10 until leaving for Watford in 2020, João Pedro scored in the 18th and 56th minutes and refused to celebrate either goal in a sign of respect for his former club. He joined Chelsea from Brighton on July 2.
Seeking its second world championship, Chelsea advanced to Sunday’s title match against the winner of Wednesday’s game between European champion Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
European teams will win their 12th straight Club World Cup title and 17th in 18 tries, the lone exception a 2012 victory by Brazil’s Corinthians over Chelsea, which won in 2021.
Fluminense was initially awarded a first-half penalty kick but it was taken away in a video review.
Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo injured a leg in second-half stoppage time.
A crowd of 70,556 was 10-15% short of capacity at MetLife Stadium, where it was 93 degrees at kickoff with humidity that made it feel like 104. FIFA cut ticket prices from $473.90 to $13.40 last week.
Chelsea has earned $88,435,000 to $103,815,000 for reaching the final, the amount depending on a participation fee FIFA has not disclosed.