Paris lose to Chelsea

Four days after sealing their place in the final with a 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in New Jersey, the Rouge et Bleu returned to the home of the Giants and Jets (American football) with a clear objective: to win the Club World Cup. Still without Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez, who were serving their second and final match suspensions, Luis Enrique fielded the same starting XI as against the Spaniards, with a central defensive pairing of captain Marquinhos and Lucas Beraldo in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes were out wide, Vitinha, João Neves and Fabian Ruiz formed the three-man midfield, and Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia occupied the wings in support of Ousmane Dembélé.

Chelsea were quick out the blocks and Marc Cucurella's header from 6 metres went just wide (3'), as did Cole Palmer's curling shot from the edge of the area (8'). The Parisians responded and Cucurella read Doué's pass to Ruiz to keep out the danger (16'). The Rouge et Bleu No14 then saw his effort saved by Robert Sanchez after Dembélé had found him perfectly (18'). The English side soon broke the deadlock. With space on the right, Malo Gusto saw his shot blocked by Beraldo, but it came back to the Blues defender who slipped it to Palmer, who then curled his shot just inside the post (1-0, 22'). Sent in behind down the right, the CFC No10 cut inside and, as he had done a few minutes earlier, fired in a low shot to extend the lead (2-0, 30'). The England international then stepped up to set up João Pedro in the box, who chipped the ball over Donnarumma (3-0, 43'). Sanchez made a double save from Neves' header (45'+3), putting an end to an unforgettable first half for the Rouge et Bleu.

The opposing goalkeeper was at his best again in the second half, keeping out Kvaratskhelia's curling shot (48'), Dembélé's close-range effort (52') and Vitinha's laser shot (59') after seeing Doué's effort from 18 metres go wide (55'). Just after coming on, Liam Delap sent a 20-yard missile towards the top corner but Donnarumma made a sublime save (68'), before stopping the England No9 again in a one-on-one situation (80'). Barcola had his turn against the Chelsea goalkeeper (82'), and that was the end of the game. It was a defeat that in no way erased the Parisians' fine run in the United States at the Club World Cup, and puts an end to Luis Enrique and his team's historic season.