Cole Palmer scored twice and fed Joao Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 in the final of the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes on Saturday, and then sent a through pass that enabled Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43rd for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.
“It’s a great feeling. Even better, because everyone doubted us before the game. We knew we had to put up a fight against a great team,” player of the match Palmer said afterwards.
A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.
PSG finished a man short after Joao Neves was given a red card in the 84th minute for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair. After a testy final few minutes, the teams needed to be separated as PSG coach Luis Enrique and Donnarumma pushed Pedro near the centre circle.
A heavy favourite who had outscored opponents 16-1, PSG had been looking to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.
Before a tournament-high crowd of 81,188 at MetLife Stadium, which included United States President Donald Trump, Chelsea showed the energy of a fourth day of rest after its semifinal, one more than PSG.
