Robert Sanchez stuns as Cole Palmer dazzles – Chelsea team ratings v PSG
Chelsea won the Club World Cup final on Sunday by defeating PSG 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium in New York.
The West Londoners were met with the potentially daunting task of beating the Champions League winners on 13 July, but settled their nerves via Cole Palmer’s brace inside half an hour.
PSG showed their devastating attacking quality when they beat Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals on Wednesday, 9 July.
However, Chelsea nullified any potential nerves when Palmer first beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a neat finish before producing a stunning solo goal.
The England star then played through Enzo Maresca’s new boy Joao Pedro on the stroke of half time, whose chipped finish put the once-surprising result beyond any doubt.
PSG’s day went from bad to worse when midfielder Joao Neves was given a late red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
Chelsea team ratings in Club World Cup final triumph
Robert Sanchez – 9 (Man of the match)
A stunning showing from the Spain international who produced a catalogue of world-class stops, and was uncharacteristically commanding in his area when it came to claiming crosses.
Marc Cucurella – 7
The Euro 2024 champion has added yet another trophy to his cabinet and made a vital intervention when he intercepted Desire Doue’s seemingly threatening cut back.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6
Perhaps the least convincing performance from a member of Chelsea’s backline on Sunday, but still deserves credit for making the likes of Ousmane Dembele look distinctly average.
Levi Colwill – 7
A solid showing from the England international, who created the assist for Palmer’s second goal at the MetLife Stadium.
Malo Gusto – 8
The 22-year-old showed plenty of attacking prowess in the opening 45 minutes and was handed his just reward when Palmer latched onto his pass to open the scoring.
Moises Caicedo – 7
It was a high quality showing of two halves from the former Brighton man, who demonstrated his high-quality defensive nous in the second half and his creative spark in the first.
Reece James – 7
The conventional right-back’s selection at central midfield may have raised eyebrows, but Reece James’ impressive showing proved Maresca right.
Pedro Neto – 6
Palmer’s genius on the opposite flank vastly out shone Pedro Neto but the Portugal international made a vital contribution by thwarting Achraf Hakimi’s over-lapping runs.
Enzo Fernandez – 5
Argentina star Enzo Fernandez was the top-assist maker in the Club World Cup, but could not display that sort of creative class against PSG.
Cole Palmer – 9
A top-drawer showing from Palmer, whose solo effort to cap off his brace will live long in the memories of the Stamford Bridge faithful. The England ace more than made up for his early missed opportunity.
Joao Pedro – 8
The former Newcastle United transfer target’s brilliant eye for goal in both the Club World Cup semi-finals and final have shown he could prove to be one of the signings of the summer, not only for Chelsea but in the Premier League.
Substitutes
Andrey Santos (for Fernandez, 61) – 6
Andrey Santos replaced Fernandez who was injured just after the hour mark, and displayed a similar level of defensive awareness while lacking creative prowess.
Liam Delap (for Pedro, 61) – 7
The former Ipswich Town hotshot Liam Delap came on with great attacking intent and was unlucky to yield two top-class stops from Donnarumma.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (for James, 77) – 6
Maresca’s ex-Leicester City colleague was brought on to see the victory out in the closing stages, and did just that.
Christopher Nkunku (for Neto, 77) – 6
Christopher Nkunku’s introduction served a similar purpose to Dewsbury-Hall’s as he made forward runs against a tiring PSG backline.