Chelsea dispatched Palmeiras 2–1 to march on to the Club World Cup semifinals in a game that ended up being closer than it appeared in the first half.
The Blues stormed out of the gate and Cole Palmer scored a wonderful goal to open the scoring before the break. Then, Palmeiras answered early in the second half with a rocket of a hit from incoming Chelsea player Estêvão Willian.
The game was in the balance from then on, but a calamitous error from El Verdão’s goalkeeper saw Chelsea retake the lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the contest. The Blues wouldn’t lose the lead again, seeing out the game with poise to move on to the semifinals.
Enzo Maresca’s side are now 90 minutes away from a shot at lifting the trophy. They’ll face Fluminense, their third Brazilian rival of the tournament, in the semifinals. The Blues will be favorites in the clash coming off a deserved victory, yet there’s still room for improvement.
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