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Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea beat Palmeiras in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup 2022 on Saturday night. The Blues became the third English side to win all the possible club honours that can be won, in domestic and intercontinental football.
Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz sealed the win after extra-time. Raphael Veiga's penalty in the 64th minute proved to be just a consolation for the Copa Libertadores Champions.
There is no doubt that the gap between the European and South American sides is decreasing with every passing season. Palmeiras took upon the huge challenge and almost were on par with their English counterparts until the 117th minute of the game. In fact, the Brazilian team was much more clinical than Chelsea in the first half of the game.
It was a similar scenario at both ends of the pitch during the game as video-assistant-referee (VAR) interventions led to penalties for both sides. Both spot-kicks were successfully converted by Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras) and Kai Havertz (Chelsea) respectively. Romelu Lukaku's header from a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross remained the only open-play goal of the night.
Without much ado, let's dive straight into the top five talking points from a game that leveled up big time in the latter half.
#1 Palmeiras front-three rattle wasteful Blues in a dull first-half
The European Champions controlled 69% possession in the first half. But they struggled to create any material chance apart from a long-range Thiago Silva strike. Meanwhile, Palmeiras were absolutely on-point when it came to tactically decoding the Chelsea pattern.
The Copa Libertadores holders made every chance count as they progressed the ball forward, into the Chelsea half. Stopper Weverton was brilliant in his quick distribution from the back, especially to left-winger Dudu. The winner caused big problems for Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen for a major part of the game.
The 30-year-old Brazilian was not only a threat due to his pace, but he was very efficient in his passing and creation too. Dudu had a 100% passing, crossing and long ball rate in the first half.
The Blues failed to impress with two-thirds of possession all over the pitch. It would've been a pretty dull first half if not for their Brazilian counterparts, stirring things up once in a while. Nevertheless, both teams were quite wasteful in the final third leading to a goal drought for the first 45 minutes.
#2 Chelsea's record-signing creates history and amends his recent shortcomings
Totally against the tide in the 55th minute, an inch-perfect Hudson-Odoi cross was met by an unmarked Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian made no mistake in opening the scoring for the night. This was Chelsea's first ever goal in a FIFA Club World Cup final. The Blues had previously lost the CWC final by a 1-0 margin back in 2012 against Corinthians.
It was also a much-needed boost for the entire Londoners' squad, as this was the most threatening attack by them in the 55 minutes of action. The goal was also followed by a flurry of meaningful chances by the English club.
To put some perspective on this goal, Lukaku has worked hard to make amends for his fallout with the club's coaching staff over the past few months. He gave an interview criticizing Tuchel's system and expressing his desire to rejoin his former club, Inter Milan. This had also resulted in him losing part of Chelsea's fan-base.
But with his goals in both the semi-final and final of the CWC, the Belgian will surely be lauded by the supporters for his efforts.
Lukaku was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in the 77th minute as German international Timo Werner took up his teammate's position.
#3 Thiago Silva turns hero to villain as Palmeiras get their well-deserved due
There is no doubt that Thiago Silva has been Chelsea's best signing alongside goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the last couple of years. The aging Brazilian was released by Paris Saint-Germain and joined the Blues in 2020.
He was key to the Blues winning their second Champions League title last year. He has been the backbone of the team despite turning 37 earlier this year.
Another important night brought upon the requirement of Silva's services in the middle of the three-man defense. He was magnificent for most of the game. He is generally calm on the ball, distributes all over the pitch and has the ability to let one fly from long range. All of this was totally at display in Abu Dhabi's Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium.
But the night turned out to be a bit ugly on the hour mark. His handball in the penalty area was adjudged by referee Chris Beath to be a punishable offense. Hence, Palmeiras were handed a penalty which was confidently dispatched by Raphael Veiga.
Silva will be relieved that the game was dusted in extra time and did not go the other way. His small error could have proved to be humungous for his club.
#4 Kai Havertz proves to be the ultimate winner in continental football for Chelsea
Kai Havertz is regarded as one of the most prodigal footballers to have been born in Germany. He has certainly written his name in Chelsea's history books in less than 24 months at the club.
He scored the sole goal which won them Europe's biggest club competition in a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the UCL final. Havertz also converted a penalty in extra time at CWC which proved to be the deciding moment for the Blues.
The 22-year-old has been subject to criticism this season for his overall performance. But he silenced his critics by stepping up for his side at such an important moment in the game.
The German international's performance on the night was, in fact, the epitome of his entire season so far. An unimpressive 115 minutes of action followed by a game-changing feat.
He was also thoroughly helped by the likes of substitutes Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, alongside captain Cesar Azpilicueta. They all stepped up their game-play big time in extra time to create multiple opportunities for the Londoners.
Kai Havertz has surely started his professional footballing career in a trophy-laden environment.
#5 Chelsea finally complete their trophy cabinet after missing out in 2012
Chelsea added the less-talked about FIFA Club World Cup trophy to their illustrious cabinet. Hence, they became just the third English club in the history of the competition to win the honor.
Club owner Roman Abramovich oversaw the game and the celebrations, both from the stands. It finally completed his club's entire chest of trophies that could ever be won by a football club.
Despite winning three trophies in the space of the last nine months, the Blues will be desperately looking to strengthen their squad in the summer. Concerns have been raised about the uncertain back-line for next season. Two of the three centre-backs who started the game on Saturday night are supposedly close to departing the blue half of London.
Chelsea are practically out of the Premier League title race at the moment, but are still contending for all three other trophies this season. They will return to action against Crystal Palace next Saturday before taking on Lille in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge in the week to follow.
