A penalty from Kai Havertz in extra time allowed Chelsea to win their first Fifa Club World Cup by beating Brazilians Palmeiras (2-1) on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. The Londoners had taken the advantage thanks to Romelu Lukaku with a header (1-0, 55th), but the South American champion had equalized less than ten minutes later, on a penalty awarded after recourse to the VAR and converted by Raphael Veiga (1-1, 64th).
Chelsea ended up making the difference, on another penalty, also granted for a hand in the area spotted by the video assistance (2-1, 117th). Kai Havertz transformed it, scoring another decisive goal after the one scored last year in the Champions League final against Manchester City.
Only one title was missing from the Blues charts and it will now sit prominently in their trophy cabinet. The disappointment of 2012, with the defeat against Corinthians in the final in Japan – the only recorded by a European team in the last 13 editions – is erased with this complicated but deserved success.
Long undecided, the final should have switched to the goal of Lukaku, already decisive scorer in the semi-final against Al-Ahly (1-0) and who could have been the hero of the tournament, he who would really need to restore his picture.
We’ve won it all. pic.twitter.com/rE5k5yV6RM
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 12, 2022
With a Thomas Tuchel who had finally managed to join his team on Friday, after six days of isolation due to contamination with the new coronavirus, and under the eyes of his owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea forced the decision and won their first trophy of the season.
Enough to further establish the reputation of the German, who took the reins of the club a little over a year ago, to take him to the coronation in the Champions League, and now on the roof of the world. But he can still do better, even if the race for the title is definitively lost, with 16 points behind Manchester City, although the incumbent champions have one more game.