A result that no one, except Chelsea fans, could have predicted as the Blues staged a colossal performance to beat the free-scoring Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to crown themselves the first FIFA Club World Cup winners. Luis Enrique’s side was caught in their own game plan of pressing and flashy attack, by Enzo Maresca’s brilliant tactics to suffocate them and hit on the break with their man for the big occasion, Cole Palmer scored a brace almost identical to the other and then threaded the ball for new signing Joao Pedro to finish the game within the first half of the final with an elegant chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian is also the reason the European champions avoided further humiliation as he stood strong against substitute Liam Delap’s two threatening chances following the break.
Chelsea’s under-fire goalkeeper Robert Sanchez rose to the occasion with important saves at 0-0 and also when the Ligue 1 giants were looking to stage a comeback. However, it was his passing range that bamboozled the opposition’s press with one of his direct balls, causing the opener of the match. The ever-reliant Ecuadorian in midfield, Moisés Caicedo, alongside captain Reece James, pocketed PSG’s power-packed midfield three, who were unable to dominate as their variations were picked out or break the Blues’ excellent defensive shape. The misery was piled up as one of the midfield sparks, Joao Neves’s yellow was upgraded to red following a VAR check after he pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair as Luis Enrique’s side, heavy favourites to win the competition, left empty-handed.
Painted Blue
It is a sensational achievement for Chelsea, who wrote their name in the history of a new competition, scoring all the goals with their first three shots of the game and securing the trophy, keeping just 34% possession. Another triumph for the Blues, following their Conference League win just a couple of months back, means they have now won all six major competitions, excluding the UEFA Super Cup, at the continental or international stage since 2013. They scored 16 goals with an average of 2.7 per match and conceded only four in those finals.
Having won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup back in 2021, Chelsea have become the first-ever English side to win two different FIFA club competitions after this 32-team Club World Cup honour. The mastermind behind their victory, Enzo Maresca, became just the second Italian manager to win a FIFA club competition after Carlo Ancelotti. This was also the second trophy under BlueCo with back-to-back fashion since it took ownership in 2022, showing Chelsea’s rise back to glory days again.
Cold show on a hot day
The superior player of the final, Cole Palmer, again took matters into his own hands, or legs, to guide Chelsea through another major showpiece. This time, he showed his cool finishing in the sweltering heat of the United States as he became the first player since Eden Hazard in the 2019 Europa League final to be involved in three goals in a final of any competition, both scoring a brace and providing an assist. He also became the third English player to score in the final of a FIFA club competition after Wayne Rooney in 2008 and Phil Foden in 2023. However, the 23-year-old is the first from his country to score a brace at this stage.
Palmer’s brilliance on big occasions is further defined by his goal contribution, with this being his eighth in six finals, scoring five goals and providing three assists. The only time the Manchester City academy product failed to make a goal contribution was in Chelsea’s defeat in the 2024 League Cup final against Liverpool. Remarkably, he has been directly involved in six goals in his last three finals for club and country, with a goal against Spain in the Euro 2024 final, two assists against Real Betis in the Conference League final and was involved in every goal scored against PSG in the Club World Cup 2025 final. His heroics honoured him with the Golden Ball, becoming just the second Englishman to win at a FIFA club competition after Rooney.
European champions decimated
It was not about PSG winning the Club World Cup final, but the number of goals that they would put in the back of the net became the rhetoric before the clash. The Parisians romped over their opposition in the competition, just as they did in their sensational Champions League campaign, which ended in a 5-0 record thrashing of Inter in the final, scoring 16 goals and conceding just once in the shock 1-0 loss to Botafogo in the second group game. Considering they registered 4-0 wins thrice, including beating both Madrid clubs and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, overcoming European heavyweights to the final, it was rather shocking to see them plummet against Chelsea after defeating four other Premier League giants earlier in the season.
The Blues took a comparatively easier route to the showpiece, although they had to win in extra time against Benfica before overcoming two tricky Brazilian teams, having lost to one of them in the group stage. They reserved their best for the final, as PSG conceded more goals in the Club World Cup showpiece than they had over the entire tournament. This was the first loss for manager Luis Enrique in a one-legged final, having lost one more final before with Barcelona over two legs in the 2014-15 Spanish Super Cup. He has won the remaining 11 showpieces he has been in as a manager.
