Cole Palmer produced a scintillating first-half masterclass as Chelsea demolished Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the Club World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Chelsea’s Club World Cup celebrations were shared with an unexpected guest – US President Donald Trump.
Following the Blues’ 3-0 win over Paris St-Germain in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump presented the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James before being invited to move aside by Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
However, Trump remained alongside James and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, and applauded as James lifted the trophy – staying in position for a few seconds before he and Infantino left at the rear of the stage.
England international James said: “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.
“He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”
The English attacking midfielder scored twice and provided an assist for Joao Pedro in a devastating display in the revamped tournament’s decider that left the European and French champions, who finished with 10 men, shell-shocked before the break.
Chelsea struck first in the 22nd minute when PSG full-back Nuno Mendes gifted possession to Malo Gusto. While his initial effort was blocked by Mendes, Gusto collected the rebound and found Palmer unmarked in the middle and the midfielder made no mistake, slotting a tidy finish just inside the left post.
Palmer doubled the lead after the 30th-minute cooling break with a goal of sublime quality. Latching onto a precise through ball from Levi Colwill, he cut inside before faking a pass to dummy a defender and firing into the bottom-left corner.
Palmer then turned provider, running up the channel before finding Joao Pedro, who took the ball in his stride and beat the offside trap before chipping his finish beautifully over keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. PSG’s misery was completed when Joao Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the 83rd minute.
Luis Enrique has offered an explanation following his furious clash with Joao Pedro after PSG’s Club World Cup final defeat by Chelsea.
Tempers flared badly after the final whistle at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, with Enrique strongly criticised for appearing to shove Pedro in his face and neck as an initial disagreement between Andrey Santos and Nuno Mendes saw the Chelsea forward, PSG boss, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma all get involved.
Enrique could now be in hot water with FIFA after his post-match behaviour on Sunday, but the Spaniard insisted afterwards that he was simply attempting to separate the players in order to try and prevent the situation from escalating any further.
