Chelsea qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals with a decisive own goal by a Palmeiras player. Once again, The Blues created an unreasonable match in the US.
Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Palmeiras helped them win 15 million pounds in prize money. However, this is also the day The Blues were fined £27 million by UEFA for violating financial regulations. If Enzo Maresca's side beat Fluminense in the semi-final, they will earn an additional £21.8m and add to the penalty.
Chelsea will enter the semi-finals as strong candidates even without new signing Liam Delap and defender Levi Colwill. Both received yellow cards in the match against Palmeiras and were suspended for the next match.
Midfielder Moises Caicedo is set to return from suspension and new signing Joao Pedro will replace Delap. Pedro made his debut for Philadelphia as a substitute just three days after completing a £50 million transfer from Brighton.
That's how things work at Chelsea. They have so many players that there are no injuries or suspensions that create disruption. Every time one player is absent, another player will step out to fill the void.
Estevao will be the next to join Maresca's growing squad. The 18-year-old completed a £33.8 million transfer from Palmeiras in June 2024. However, he was too young to move directly to Stamford Bridge at that time. Therefore, Estevao remains in Brazil to continue developing with Palmeiras.
Chelsea may have called up Estevao to the squad for the tournament, but the decision allowed this teenager to stay at Palmeiras. Maresca will also have more opportunities to accurately assess Estevao's potential.
In his final match for Palmeiras before moving to Chelsea, Estevao scored a stunning goal and excited The Blues fans. With Chelsea leading 1-0 after Cole Palmer's goal in the first half, Palmeiras struggled to attack until Estevao shined.
It was a goal that demonstrated Estevao's boldness and confidence. This goal also helped the Brazilian team have a more comfortable game and almost took the lead.
Estevao tormented Chelsea's defense with his horrifying speed and combined well with Vitor Roque. But the Brazilian team could not take advantage of their control. In contrast, Chelsea were lucky in the 83rd minute when Malo gust's shot hit Agustin Giay's foot and changed direction, leaving Palmeiras goalkeeper unable to react.
That was a £15 million goal and a place in the semi-finals for the Blues.
Chelsea have come this far more thanks to luck than thanks to a good plan. Maresca's side have not performed very impressively in the group stage, having been easily beaten by Flamengo. However, The Blues could still reach the quarter-finals after a chaotic match against Benfica.
But despite all, including the noise off the pitch, Chelsea reached the semi-finals and met Fluminense. This is the only remaining Brazilian representative after the quarter-finals.
"This was a very difficult match for us. In the first half, we played better, controlled better and scored. But then they equalized and everything changed dramatically.
Luckily, we still had the winning goal at the end of the match. However, I think we deserved this victory. I want to send my congratulations to the players" - Maresca said after the match.
Less than two months ago, Chelsea faced the reality of not qualifying for the Champions League. But suddenly, they are just one match away from the FIFA Club World Cup final, having qualified for the Champions League and won the Europa Conference League.
Don't try to understand everything, because this is Chelsea. The chaos seemed to be the driving force for Maresca's team.
