Chelsea crowned world champions after Kai Havertz penalty sink Palmeiras | Club World Cup | The Guardian — theguardian.com

Chelsea can finally call themselves champions of the world. Nine years on from losing in the final of this competition to Corinthians, they were determined to make history and the celebrations were joyous when the full-time whistle blew and they had ended their long wait to win the only trophy to have eluded them in the Roman Abramovich era.Perhaps it had to be this way. It seemed Chelsea would need a penalty shootout before Kai Havertz, the man who scored the only goal when Thomas Tuchel’s side won the Champions League, stepped up to make history with three minutes to go. César Azpilicueta, the first Chelsea player to have won every club trophy, had won a penalty and Havertz was nerveless from the spot, finally ending Palmeiras’s stout resistance.Chelsea had led through Romelu Lukaku’s goal, only to concede a penalty to Raphael Veiga. Palmeiras, who finished with 10 men after Luan’s late red card, gave everything as they looked to become world champions for the first time. This was an occasion to savour, even though Fifa’s official cheerleaders would not be swayed from their doomed attempts to silence the Brazilian din with some ludicrous pre-match entertainment.Memo to Gianni Infantino: Palmeiras’s 15,000 supporters needed no help creating an atmosphere. The noise was deafening long before kick-off, most of the ground decked out in green and white, and initially there was a sense of Chelsea trying to draw the sting, their approaching seemingly to calm the crowd by hoarding possession and taking few risks on the ball.As the opening period wore on, though, the more it felt as if Chelsea were being too polite. Tuchel, who was on the touchline after flying to Abu Dhabi on Friday, did not see enough urgency. He had taken no chances, disappointing Kepa Arrizabalaga by starting Édouard Mendy in goal, but Chelsea were unconvincing. Their set-pieces were poor and there was too much wastefulness in the final third, Havertz shooting wide when he might have released Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 25th minute.The attacks felt forced. With Lukaku isolated against Gustavo Gómez and Luan, there was little cohesion to Chelsea’s attempts to break the Copa Libertadores champions down. Thiago Silva saw a long-range effort saved by Weverton and Antonio Rüdiger headed narrowly wide, but a goal rarely looked likely and the sense of foreboding grew when Mason Mount had to make way for Christian Pulisic in the 31st minute.Palmeiras, well drilled by their Portuguese manager, must have taken confidence from Mason Mount limping off. Compact in their low block, they were growing into the game. Ze Rafael was energetic in midfield and Palmeiras were dangerous when they crept forward, Dudu having the best effort of the half when he fired over from 20 yards.Romelu Lukaku heads Chelsea in front in the Club World Cup final. Photograph: Suhaib Salem/ReutersDudu was showing plenty of willing. The striker ran the channels and he was unlucky with his second chance, Ze Rafael’s undercooked pass forcing him to pull a shot wide as Andreas Christensen closed him down.Chelsea were too open. Christensen would also have to make a vital intervention when Ze Rafael burst down the left and Tuchel cannot have had many kind things to say to his players during the interval.With Abramovich in the stands, Chelsea needed to improve. They had to show more urgency and the signs were encouraging at the start of the second half, N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovacic offering more poise in the middle and Hudson-Odoi pushing on from left wing-back.It seemed that Chelsea had realised that they were allowed to use their wide players. They were beginning to stretch Palmeiras and the shift soon brought a reward. Hudson-Odoi reached the byline before crossing with his left foot – his weaker side – and Lukaku, who had been crying out for that kind of service, sent a stunning header past Weverton after bullying Luan in the air.Surely the natural order had asserted itself. Chelsea’s £97.5m striker had shown his class and for a brief moment it seemed that Palmeiras, who had given so much to the defensive effort, had run out of belief.Soon, though, their fans were roaring again. Chelsea, normally so streetwise on these nights, had been caught out by the simplest of moves. A long throw in the 62nd minute was enough to cause the panic and it was difficult to know what Silva was complaining about when Scott Beath pointed to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor. The Brazilian defender had clearly handled as he challenged Gómez and Chelsea were back to square one when Veiga calmly sent Mendy the wrong way from 12 yards.Palmeiras, by contrast, were starting to dream. Veiga, a nimble No10, tested Mendy from the edge of the area and Chelsea’s frustration grew when Pulisic shot inches wide from the edge of the area.Desperate for a spark, Tuchel made some curious changes. The players who made the opening goal came off, Lukaku and Hudson-Odoi making way for Timo Werner and Saúl Niguez, but Chelsea had become predictable by the end of normal time.Tuchel kept tweaking. The introduction of Malang Sarr and Hakim Ziyech for Christensen and Kovacic saw Chelsea ditch their 3-4-2-1 for a 4-2-4, but there was no sign of a breakthrough during the first half of extra time.Palmeiras were defending bravely and Chelsea grew irritable, Pulisic and Ziyech bickering with each other as half-time approached.The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.Yet the pressure grew and Chelsea broke through when another VAR check confirmed that Azpilicueta’s volley was handled by Luan, who was shown a yellow card.The Palmeiras players were heartbroken. Havertz stepped up to put the penalty away and Chelsea, who have already won three trophies under Tuchel’s brief management, had made history.

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