EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: Chelsea will not care one iota for all the snide criticism of FIFA’s resurrected, expanded, heat-afflicted Club World Cup; they can only boast of their status as world champions after defeating European kings Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the MetLife stadium showdown.

PSG, having driven the best of Europe into the ground to win the Champions League, ran out of steam when it finally mattered and were out-powered by Enzo Maresca’s UEFA Conference League holders. Man of both match and tournament Cole Palmer [two] and Joao Pedro scored the goals in front of United States President Donald Trump.

Tempers boiled over at the final whistle as PSG’s stars allowed frustration and fatigue to overwhelm them much as Chelsea had done throughout the previous 90 minutes.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made two changes from his side’s semi-final victory over Fluminense with Levi Colwill and captain Reece James coming in for Tosin Adarabioyo and Christopher Nkunku respectively, while Joao Pedro kept his place up front.

The changes paid off handsomely with the Blues dangerous from the outset. Palmer showed his intent when he came close to opening the scoring in just the seventh minute with a curling left-footed effort that flew just wide.

Chelsea duly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when PSG fullback Nuno Mendes gifted possession to Malo Gusto. His initial effort was blocked by Mendes so Gusto collected the rebound and found Palmer unmarked in the middle and the midfielder made no mistake, slotting a tidy finish just inside the left post.

Palmer, hailed later as the tournament’s best player doubled the lead after the 30th-minute cooling break with a quality goal. Collecting a precise through ball from Colwill, he cut inside before faking a pass to dummy a defender and fired beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Palmer then turned provider, running up the right-wing channel before opening the way for Joao Pedro to beat the offside trap and chip Donnarumma. Chelsea thus finished as top scorers in the tournament with 17 goals; one more than PSG Manchester City and Bayern who were all on 16.

PSG’s humiliation was completed when Joao Neves was sent off for pathetically pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the 83rd minute. Coach Luis Enrique’s side, chasing a quadruple of major trophies from the 2024-25 campaign, were a shadow of the team who had demolished Real Madrid.

Tournament awards

Top scorer: Gonzalo Garcia [Real Madrid] four goals and one assist. Also four goals; Angel Di Maria [Benfica], Marcos Leonardo [Al Hilal] and Serhou Guirassy [Borussia Dortmund].

Golden Ball: Cole Palmer (Chelsea). Silver Ball: Vitinha (PSG). Bronze Ball: Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)

Young Player; Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain)

Best Goalkeeper: Robert Sanchez (Chelsea)

Fairplay: Bayern Munich

Tournament results

GROUP STAGE — Gp A: Al Ahly 0, Inter Miami 0; Palmeiras 0, Porto 0 – Palmeiras 2, Al-Ahly 0; Inter Miami 2, Porto 1 – inter Miami 2, Palmeiras 2; Porto 4, Al Ahly 4. Points: Palmeiras 5, Inter Miami 5, Porto 2, Al Ahly 2.

Gp B: PSG 4, Atletico Madrid 0; Botafogo 2, Seattle Sounders 1 – Seattle Sounders 1, Atletico Madrid 3; PSG 0, Botafogo 1 – Seattle 0, PSG 2; Atletico Madrid 1, Botafogo 0. Pts: PSG 6, Botafogo 6, Atletico Madrid 6, Seattle Sounders 0.

Gp C: Bayern Munich 10, Auckland City 0; Boca Juniors 2, Benfica 2 – Benfica 0, Auckland City 0, Bayern 2, Boca 1 – Auckland City 1, Boca 1; Benfica 1, Bayern 0. Points: Benfica 7, Bayern 6, Boca 1, Auckland City 0.

Gp D: Chelsea 2, Los Angeles 0; Flamengo 2, Esperance 0 – Flamengo 3, Chelsea 1; Los Angeles 0, Esperance 1 – Los Angeles 1, Flamengo 1; Esperance 0, Chelsea 3. Points: Flamengo 7, Chelsea 6, Esperance 3, Los Angeles 1.

Gp E: River Plate 3, Urawa Red Diamonds 1; Monterrey 1, Internazionale 1 – Inter 2, Red Diamonds 2; River Plate 0, Monterrey 0 – Internazionale 2, River Plate 0; Urawa RD 0, Monterrey 4. Points: Inter 7, Monterrey 5, River Plate 4, Urawa RD 0.

Gp F: Fluminense 0, Borussia Dortmund 0; Ulsan 0, Mamolodi Sundowns 1 – Mamelodi 3, Dortmund 4; Fluminense 4, Ulsan 2 – b Dortmund 1, Ulsan 0; Mamelodi 0, Fluminense 0. Points: Borussia Dortmund 7, Fluminense 5, Mamelodi Sundowns 4, Ulsan HD 0.

Gp G: Manchester City 2, Wydad Casablanca 0; Al Ain 0, Juventus 5 – Juventus 4, Wydad 1; Man. City v Al Ain – Juventus 2, Manchester City 5; Wydad 1, Al Ain 2. Points: Man. City 9, Juventus 6, Al Ain 3, Wydad 0.

Gp H: Real Madrid 1, Al-Hilal 1; Pachuca 1, RB Salzburg 2 – Real Madrid 3, Pachuca 1; RB Salzburg 0, Al Hilal 0 – Al-Hilal 2, Pachuca 0; RB Salzburg 0, Real Madrid 3. Points: Real Madrid 7, Al-Hilal 5, RB Salzburg 3, Pachuca 0.

Last 16: Palmeiras 1, Botafogo 0 aet; Benfica 1, Chelsea 4 aet; PSG 4, Inter Miami 0; Flamengo 2, Bayern Munich 4; Internazionale 0, Fluminense; Man. City 3, Al-Hilal 4 aet; Real Madrid 1, Juventus 0; Borussia Dortmund 2, Monterrey 1.

Quarter-finals: Palmeiras 1, Chelsea 2; Fluminense 2, Al-Hilal 1; Paris Saint-Germain 2, Bayern Munich 0; Real Madrid 3, Borussia Dortmund 2.

Semi-finals; Fluminense 0, Chelsea 2; PSG 4, Real Madrid 0.

Final: Chelsea 3, PSG 0.

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