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European champions Paris Saint-Germain will meet Premier League powerhouse Chelsea in today’s Club World Cup final.
After the Blues beat two Brazilian sides to reach the decider, and PSG impressively knocked out a pair of heavyweights, the teams are set to convene in New Jersey.
It has been a productive summer so far for Chelsea, who added another European trophy to their collection and secured qualification for next year’s Champions League before heading to the United States.
After their 2-0 victory over Fluminense in the Club World Cup semi-finals, the London side has posted five wins from six en route to today’s showpiece.
Last Tuesday night, new signing Joao Pedro suggested he could be a perfect fit for Enzo Maresca’s attacking puzzle, scoring in either half against his boyhood club to secure serene progress.
Previously, the Blues had seen off Flu’s fellow Brazilians Palmeiras in the last eight and Benfica in the last 16. The latter win finally arrived despite a long weather delay and then extra time, but Chelsea’s journey has been fairly smooth so far.
Though they only finished second in Group D – due to a 3-1 defeat against Flu’s Rio rivals Flamengo – Maresca’s men fortunately avoided several big-hitters on the other side of the draw.
Paris Saint-Germain have been busy breaking new ground this year, so winning FIFA’s revamped tournament would complete an already historic campaign in some style.
Since slipping up against Botafogo in the group stage, PSG have been perfect on their way to the final, peaking with back-to-back wins over Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Having cruised past Inter Miami in the first knockout round, Luis Enrique’s men sealed a 2-0 success over the German giants, before ruthlessly dispatching the 15-time European champions on Wednesday.
Posting a fourth consecutive win without conceding, Les Parisiens twice capitalised on Real Madrid errors to claim an early 2-0 lead, before Fabian Ruiz clinically fired home his second goal, effectively killing the game before half time.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos even added a final flourish late on, as PSG mirrored the scoreline in their tournament opener against Real’s city rivals Atletico Madrid.
Such supremacy is becoming commonplace for the French champions, who thumped Inter Milan 5-0 in the recent Champions League final, soon after netting three times to claim the Coupe de France.
Led by their inspirational manager, who won the Club World Cup with Barcelona back in 2015, accolades are being lavished on a free-scoring team with relentless work-rate.
Yet, 90 minutes – or perhaps a little more – still stand between PSG and an incredible quadruple.
