East Rutherford, N.J. — João Pedro wasted no time making his mark in his first Chelsea start, scoring twice to lead the Premier League side past his boyhood club, Fluminense, in a 2–0 semifinal victory at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday. The win sends Chelsea into Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final.
The 23-year-old Brazilian, a £60 million ($81.5 million) summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a sublime strike from the top of the box and added a second in the 56th with a blistering counterattack finish that ricocheted in off the underside of the crossbar.
Chelsea will now await the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Pedro, a product of Fluminense’s youth system, once wore the maroon and green of the Rio de Janeiro club. He made 25 senior appearances in Brazil before heading to England in 2019, where he played for Watford and Brighton before landing at Stamford Bridge. He came off the bench in Chelsea’s quarterfinal win over Palmeiras but needed just 18 minutes in his first start to come back and haunt his former club.
His first goal came after pressing high in midfield to win back possession. He fed Pedro Neto on the right wing, and when Neto’s low cross was only partially cleared, Pedro latched onto the loose ball at the edge of the box. Two touches later, he curled a stunning right-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Fábio and into the top corner.
The second was even more emphatic. After collecting a long outlet pass from Enzo Fernández down the left flank, Pedro weaved his way into the box, cut inside a Fluminense defender, and unleashed a rocket that rattled off the crossbar and in—leaving Fábio with no chance.
Fluminense, who had four Brazilian teams reach the knockout rounds of the expanded Club World Cup, had their moments but couldn’t capitalize. In the 26th minute, Marc Cucurella cleared Hércules’ shot off the line with Chelsea keeper Robert Sánchez already beaten. Then in the 36th, a potential penalty was overturned by referee François Letexier after VAR confirmed Trevoh Chalobah’s arm was in a natural position.
With the victory, Chelsea guarantees Europe a 12th consecutive Club World Cup title and 17th in the last 18 editions. The only non-European winner in that span was Brazil’s Corinthians, who beat Chelsea in the 2012 final.
The Blues are also expected to receive between $88.4 million and $103.8 million for reaching the final—depending on FIFA’s undisclosed participation fee structure.
Despite a sweltering 3 p.m. kickoff in the height of East Coast summer, more than 70,000 fans packed the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants to witness the semifinal spectacle.
