ORLANDO —– A late own-goal by goalkeeper Weverton took Chelsea through to the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals as the Premier League side edged Palmeiras of Brazil 2-1 in a last-eight tie that had been lit up by a moment of magic from young star Estevao Willian.
The teenage Brazil forward, who will join Chelsea after the tournament, was eager to impress his future employers and his brilliant 53rd-minute finish cancelled out Cole Palmer’s opener in Philadelphia.
But a deflected Malo Gusto cross went in off Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton in the 83rd minute to give Chelsea the victory and set up a semi-final showdown with another Brazilian side in Fluminense.
The scoreline was a repeat of Chelsea’s victory when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup under the tournament’s old guise in 2022, AFP reported.
Enzo Maresca’s team will now be fancied to go on and reach the final of FIFA’s new, expanded version of the competition, with Fluminense standing in their way in the last four at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
If not everyone has yet been won over by the tournament, the intensity levels on the pitch are rising as it reaches the business end and there was a big-game atmosphere in the stands in Philadelphia.
Lincoln Financial Field was almost sold out for the occasion, with 65 782 fans in attendance despite much of the city having emptied out for the 4 July holiday and long weekend.
This game played out to a backdrop of Independence Day fireworks lighting up the sky over the nearby Delaware River, but there were fireworks on the pitch too.
Chelsea lit the spark first, taking the lead in the 16th minute thanks to a moment of class from England international Palmer.
After drifting into a pocket of space just outside the Palmeiras box, Palmer controlled a Trevoh Chalobah pass on the half-turn, carried on into the area and dispatched a low shot past Weverton.
It was the ideal start for Chelsea, who lost to Flamengo when they last faced Brazilian opposition in the same stadium during the group stage.
Maresca added extra Brazilian flavour to the occasion by handing a first start to talented young midfielder Andrey Santos following his return from a successful loan at Strasbourg.
With Moises Caicedo suspended, Santos occupied the holding midfield role for Chelsea while Pedro Neto lined up on the right wing, choosing to play despite having to come to terms with the tragic death of his Portugal international teammate Diogo Jota on Thursday.
Playing on the right wing for Palmeiras was Estevao, the 18-year-old Brazil prodigy set to join Chelsea in a big-money transfer agreed over a year ago.
He knew this could be his last game for the Sao Paulo side, and Chelsea probably should have been two goals ahead before the interval only for Christopher Nkunku to blaze over after being teed up by Palmer.
Instead Palmeiras equalised eight minutes into the second half, with Estevao the inevitable scorer.
Positioned inside the Chelsea box to the right, Estevao controlled a pass by Richard Rios and took a touch to get in front of Levi Colwill, another to steady himself, and then surprised goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with an early shot that went in off the underside of the bar.
Chelsea responded by sending on new signing Joao Pedro for his debut, the Brazilian becoming the 27th player used by Maresca during the tournament.
The Blues pushed in search of a second goal but extra time was starting to look likely when the Premier League side grabbed a scrappy winner with seven minutes of the 90 to play.
Following a corner played short, Enzo Fernandez found Malo Gusto and his attempted low centre from the left side of the box deflected off the toe of Agustin Giay to surprise Weverton, with the ball striking him on its way in to decide the tie.
