CWC: Dr Chelsea find cure for Flu! Joao Pedro fires shots and kills his own

Some would call it fate. Some would say it's a movie-like situation. But, to sum it up in just one word - it's football.

Six days ago, Joao Pedro joined Chelsea from Brighton in a £60 million transfer. Destiny wanted him to debut in the starting lineup against the club at which he spent as many as nine years - his youth days and his maiden professional season.

And then football took care of the rest. Joao Pedro had no mercy for his boyhood club, scoring his first Chelsea goals against it - in the 18th and 56th minute - before being subbed out just four minutes after completing a brace.

At that point, the first FIFA Club World Cup finalist was already known, as the South American giant killers were "murdered" by their own child. Poetic, isn't it?

The brace-scorer did not celebrate either of his goals, showing respect for Flu, which the fiery Brazilian fans will undoubtedly appreciate, even though one of their own ended their CWC fairytale - 2-0.

For nearly 20 minutes, the rivals were playing a cautious game with few risks. And then Chelsea's newcomer appeared and fired shots at his own! The man who grew up at Fluminense, Joao Pedro, broke the deadlock against his boyhood club, scoring his maiden goal in his first start with the Blues and putting them in front in the 18th minute.

The Brazilian aimed precisely from around an 18-meter distance, leaving no chance to Flu's 44-year-old custodian Fabio. Still, he did not celebrate the goal, paying respect to his former side.

Just three minutes later, Malo Gusto could have scored his first-ever goal with Chelsea, but his close-range header went straight into Fabio's arms.

Fluminense responded five minutes later with a colossal chance. The Brazilians' hero from the past two rounds, Hercules, played a timely one-two pass with Cano, facing Robert Sanchez one-on-one. The midfielder passed the ball through the keeper's legs, and the entire MetLife Stadium probably saw it in the net. Everyone except Marc Cucurella, who appeared out of nowhere and saved his team with a magnificent goal-line clearance!

In the 35th minute, Trevoh Chalobah handballed in the box and the ref Francois Letexier immediately pointed to the spot, but after a VAR intervention, the Frenchman changed his decision, so Chelsea remained 1-0 up at the break.

In the opening ten minutes of the second period, Cucurella on the one side and Everaldo on the other attempted, but the result stayed the same. Yet, that was only the introduction in the "Chapter 2" of Joao Pedro's show! This time, Chelsea's counterattack and ex-Brighton striker's solo effort and a "missile" that followed were enough to double the Blues lead!

Following that goal, the rhythm of the game significantly dropped, while both managers started refreshing their ranks with subs. Fluminense players seemed pretty disheartened after the rivals' second goal, but Enzo Maresca's subs were motivated to score. Ten minutes before the end, Nicolas Jackson had a decent opportunity, but his effort hit the side of the net.

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During the final minutes, Flu went for at least one goal, but all their attacks were easily stopped by the Blues' sturdy defence, as their FIFA Club World Cup fairytale came to an end in the semi-finals. Still, they should be more than proud of what they achieved in the USA.

In the end, Chelsea definitely exploited a somewhat easier draw they had in the tournament and a bit unexpectedly reached the grand final in which they'll face the winner of tomorrow's clash between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (22.00) on July 13.

FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025

1/2 finals

Tuesday

Fluminense - Chelsea 0-2 (0-1)

/Joao Pedro 18, 56/

Wednesday

22.00 (2.35) PSG (3.50) Real Madrid (2.95)

***odds are subject to change***