PHILADELPHIA, July 5 — A late own goal by goalkeeper Weverton sent Chelsea through to the Club World Cup semi-finals on Friday as the Premier League side edged Palmeiras of Brazil 2-1 in a last-eight tie lit up by a moment of brilliance from young star Estevao Willian.
The teenage Brazilian forward, who will join Chelsea after the tournament, was eager to impress his future employers and his superb 53rd-minute finish cancelled out Cole Palmer’s opener in Philadelphia.
But a deflected Malo Gusto cross went in off Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton in the 83rd minute to hand Chelsea the victory and set up a semi-final clash with another Brazilian side, Fluminense.
The scoreline repeated Chelsea’s triumph when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup under its previous format in 2022.
Enzo Maresca’s team will now be expected to reach the final of FIFA’s newly expanded version of the tournament, with Fluminense standing in their way in the last four at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
While the competition has yet to convince all football fans, the intensity on the pitch is rising as it enters the decisive stages, and there was a big-match atmosphere in the stands in Philadelphia.
Lincoln Financial Field was nearly sold out for the occasion, with 65,782 fans in attendance despite much of the city having emptied out for the 4 July holiday and long weekend.
This game unfolded against a backdrop of Independence Day fireworks lighting up the sky over the nearby Delaware River, but there were fireworks on the pitch too.
Chelsea lit the spark first, taking the lead in the 16th minute through a moment of quality from England international Palmer.
After drifting into space just outside the Palmeiras box, Palmer controlled a Trevoh Chalobah pass on the half-turn, carried on into the area and struck a low shot past Weverton.
It was the ideal start for Chelsea, who lost to Flamengo the last time they faced Brazilian opposition in the same stadium during the group stage.
Maresca added more Brazilian flavour to the match by giving a first start to talented young midfielder Andrey Santos, who had returned from a successful loan spell at Strasbourg.
With Moises Caicedo suspended, Santos filled the holding midfield role for Chelsea while Pedro Neto started on the right wing, opting to play despite mourning the tragic death of his Portugal teammate Diogo Jota on Thursday.
Playing on the right for Palmeiras was Estevao, the 18-year-old Brazil prodigy set to join Chelsea in a big-money transfer agreed more than a year ago.
He knew this might be his final match for the São Paulo club, and Chelsea probably should have doubled their lead before half-time, only for Christopher Nkunku to blaze over after being set up by Palmer.
Instead, Palmeiras equalised eight minutes into the second half, with Estevao the inevitable scorer.
Inside the Chelsea box on the right, Estevao controlled a pass from Richard Rios, took a touch to get in front of Levi Colwill, steadied himself and surprised goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with an early shot that went in off the underside of the bar.
Chelsea responded by introducing new signing Joao Pedro for his debut, making him the 27th player used by Maresca during the tournament.
The Blues pressed for a second goal, but extra time looked increasingly likely until a scrappy winner arrived with seven minutes of normal time to go.
Following a short corner, Enzo Fernandez found Malo Gusto, and his low cross from the left side of the box deflected off the toe of Agustin Giay to catch Weverton off guard, with the ball bouncing in to settle the tie. — AFP
