New signing Joao Pedro scored twice on his full debut to send Chelsea into the Club World Cup final with a composed 2-0 win over Fluminense on Tuesday at the MetLife Stadium.
The Brazilian striker, a £60m arrival from Brighton last week, struck in each half to book the Blues a place in Sunday’s final, where they will meet either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain. The 23-year-old, who cut short his holiday to make a cameo in the quarter-final win over Palmeiras, was handed a starting role in place of the suspended Liam Delap—and made it count.
Pedro, who began his career at Fluminense before moving to Watford in 2020, chose not to celebrate either goal out of respect for his former club.
Chelsea’s opener came in the 18th minute, when Thiago Silva’s clearance from a Pedro Neto cross fell to Joao Pedro at the edge of the box. He took one touch before curling a superb strike beyond veteran goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner. His muted celebration was met with applause from Fluminense fans behind the goal.
The Rio side had their moments, particularly when Hércules, their quarter-final hero against Al-Hilal, nearly equalised after a clever one-two with German Cano. His lobbed effort beat Robert Sánchez but was cleared off the line by Marc Cucurella.
Fluminense were later awarded a penalty after a Rene cross struck Trevoh Chalobah’s arm, but referee François Letexier reversed the decision following a VAR review.
Chelsea’s second came in the 56th minute, just after Fluminense had switched to a more attacking setup. Enzo Fernández released Joao Pedro on the counter and the forward made no mistake, smashing the ball in off the crossbar.
Enzo Maresca’s side saw out the match with relative ease in front of 70,556 spectators under the New York sun. The only concern was a late knock to Moisés Caicedo, who returned from suspension but limped off before full-time.
“It’s a great achievement,” said Maresca. “It’s been a fantastic season—top four in the league, Conference League winners, and now in a Club World Cup final. We’re very happy. One more game to go.”
Fluminense’s spirited run ends after knocking out Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Al-Hilal. Coach Renato Portaluppi, whose team entered the tournament with the smallest budget among the semi-finalists, remained proud.
“We were the underdogs and still got this far,” he said. “We leave with our heads held high and stronger than before.”
With back-to-back wins over Brazilian opposition, Chelsea now prepare for a blockbuster final against one of Europe’s elite in the first-ever 32-team Club World Cup.
