Chelsea captured the first FIFA Club World Cup trophy in its storied history on Saturday night. The Blues defeated Palmeiras 2-1 thanks to a Kai Havertz penalty in the 117′ of the contest. It wasn’t pretty throughout, the European Champions looked sluggish and flat, but it matters not in the end. Chelsea has now filled the last remaining void in its trophy case under the ownership of Roman Abramovich with this victory, Cesar Azpilicueta can also now claim he’s won it all during his time in London. The Blues have won the Club World Cup and Super Cup already this campaign. They have an opportunity to realistically win three more pieces of silverware this season (the Carabao Cup, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup).
Havertz and Romelu Lukaku are the heroes on the day as their goals lifted Chelsea to the victory over the Brazilian giants. This win not only completes the Blues’ trophy case, but it also brings a sense of closure to many Chelsea supporters who witnessed heartbreak in the same game a decade ago. The exciting win is undoubtedly something to celebrate for all involved with the Blues, so who are the other heroes of Saturday’s final that helped them get over the line?
Here is how each player performed in Chelsea’s triumphant victory in the Club World Cup final:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 7/10
Edouard Mendy was selected over Kepa Arrizabalaga after returning from his month-long journey with Senegal. The African Cup of Nations Champion and Best Goalkeeper was solid on the day, although he admittedly had very little to do. Palmeiras’ lone goal came from the penalty spot and as all fans know, saving spot kicks is not Mendy’s strong-suit. Regardless, he acted as a reassuring presence between the posts. Mendy is now a Champion of Africa, Europe and the world.
Andreas Christensen (Right centerback): 8.5/10
Andreas Christensen came off at the start of extra time as he looked to be limping a bit. The Dane put in another fantastic performance following up his Man of the Match efforts on Wednesday to help lift the Blues to the final in the first place. It was a shame he couldn’t finish out the game because Christensen is in fine form at the moment.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 9/10
Thiago Silva took home a host of awards following the game’s conclusion and rightly so. The Brazilian won the Club World Cup for the first time, which he thoroughly deserves after such an amazing career up to this point. He won the Golden Ball for his perfect displays over the tournament’s two games. It just goes to show that none of this would be possible without Silva.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 10/10
Antonio Rudiger was the official Man of the Match on the day. He earns a perfect rating for putting on a flawless defensive clinic in the final of a competition the Blues simply had to win. Rudiger deserves a big hug, pay raise and extension directly from Roman Abramovich during the dressing room celebrations—there are no two ways about it anymore.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right wingback): 10/10
Azpilicueta was a Chelsea icon for his contributions to the club coming into the CWC. He is now undeniably a legend and arguably the Blues’ second best skipper in history after winning everything there is to win at the club. His passion and professionalism were evident throughout the entirety of the contest. It would’ve been poetic to see the captain find the back of the net to give his side the lead in extra time on the penalty, but he smartly handed it to Havertz after confusing the Palmeiras keeper.
The only thing that mattered was winning this piece of silverware for the Spaniard in the first place and it’s been incredible watching what it means to him. Azpilicueta is one of the three players in this game to earn a perfect rating, his on sheer principle.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 8/10
N’Golo Kante was significantly better against Palmeiras than he was in the second half versus Al Hilal. The Frenchman looked more like his old self when out of possession. However, when he got on the ball, he managed to look like the Blues’ most threatening player going forward. Kante truly got the job done at both ends of the pitch on Saturday and his rating reflects that.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 7/10
Mateo Kovacic came off at the beginning of extra time, which allowed Thomas Tuchel to bring on Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan needed to be introduced in order to break down the Brazilians’ low block. It was a bit harsh on the Croatian to see him taken off, but he is the only midfielder to have gone the distance in the semifinal, so he looked a bit gassed toward the end of regular time. A good—not great—day at the office for Kovacic.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Left wingback): 6/10
Callum Hudson-Odoi starting the game at left wingback was always going to raise eyebrows. The Englishman has looked a lot better on the left in a 4-1-4-1 as of late, but his struggles in a more defensive role remain. Hudson-Odoi looked short of confidence as he wasn’t even able to take defenders on one-on-one when necessary. He failed to find his footing in the game for large parts. Nevertheless, Hudson-Odoi’s inch-perfect cross found the head of Lukaku for the opener before he was replaced in the 76.
Mason Mount (Right winger): 6/10
Mason Mount had some individual moments of brilliance early on. It’s easy to forget just how talented the Englishman is simply because Chelsea fans expect greatness every time he takes the pitch. Mount is truly special and he reminded spectators of that with some silky smooth touches to get away from Palmeiras’ defenders early on. All of that being said, Mount’s return to the starting XI was underwhelming. The Brazilian side set up in what was essentially a 6-4 formation out of possession for all intents and purposes. Mount failed to effectively link up with his fellow attackers. He didn’t get much time to adjust though, coming off just after the half-hour mark with an injury. Fingers crossed he can recover quickly because he’s crucial to this team’s success.
Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 7/10
It was the same old song and dance from Lukaku on Saturday. The Belgian largely failed to get involved in the Chelsea’s build-up play—which, to be fair to Lukaku, was flat and uninspiring as a whole—throughout his 75 minutes on the pitch. Nevertheless, it was the Blues’ No. 9 who rose above the rest to get on the end of Hudson-Odoi’s cross and give his side a lead.
Chelsea fans have been frustrated with the 28-year-old’s play as of late and it’s easy to understand their anger. However, Lukaku’s 10th goal of the season (and second of the competition) has him atop the Blues’ scoring charts. The big man was brought in to score goals and that’s exactly what he’s done recently. Lukaku’s rating looks a lot better due to the fact he opened the scoring in an otherwise dreary display.
Kai Havertz (Left winger): 10/10
Build this man a statue outside Stamford Bridge. While Havertz has largely been uninspiring during his time with the club, he’s now won Chelsea two of the most important trophies in world football. Havertz looked a lot more confident going forward, linking up well with Lukaku and a number of others around him. The German was asked to play numerous positions and he did well in each of them. In addition to the penalty, Havertz’s run in injury time at the end of the game saw Palmeiras go down to 10 men for denying him an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Cue the song. “Oh Roman do you know what that’s worth? Chelsea FC are the best on Earth. Kai Havertz, cool from the spot, that’s how we won the (redacted) lot!”
Christian Pulisic (Left winger): 6/10
Christian Pulisic replaced Mount after half an hour. He brought the Blues’ attack back to life in the first few minutes he was on the pitch. As time ticked on though, the American faded into the background. Pulisic was once again a passenger for large parts of the game. When he did manage to get onto the ball, he was usually dispossessed too easily. There was some good interplay from the versatile attacker at certain points, which did get him a bit more credit in the end.
Timo Werner (Right winger): 6.5/10
Werner replaced Lukaku as Chelsea searched for a winner at the end of regular time. His role was difficult to understand as he drifted centrally a lot of times, despite playing as a left winger. Werner was OK off the bench, he gets docked some points for not making as much of an impact as many believe he should’ve on the tired Palmeiras defense though.
Saul (Central midfielder): 6.5/10
Saul came on late to take up a role in central midfield. He was heavily involved from the middle of the park. Nevertheless, it’s hard to remember the Spaniard doing anything of any significance during his time on the field.
Malang Sarr (Left back): 6/10
Malang Sarr replaced Christensen and his introduction led to a formation change. Chelsea went into four at the back in extra time with the Frenchman playing left back. He had some nervy touches and his distribution was shaky per usual, but he did the job he was brought on to do. Sarr’s positional versatility is going to be important to the Blues going forward, especially with Ben Chilwell sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 7.5/10
Oddly enough, Chelsea played through Havertz and Werner on the left side of the attack throughout much of extra time. This hardly mattered in the end as Ziyech’s contributions were key any time he found the ball at his feet. Whether he was dribbling by defenders or playing sumptuous passes into the box, Ziyech’s creativity made the world of difference.
Thomas Tuchel (Manager): 5/10
Tuchel made a handful of interesting decisions in his initial set-up. He kept the Blues in a 3-4-3 after their underwhelming showing against Al Hilal. This resulted in the attack looking incredibly flat throughout the entirety of the match. Furthermore, Tuchel waited until extra time to introduce Ziyech, who has been the Blues’ best player in recent weeks. It was not a great display in the manager’s return to the touchline, but Chelsea won the title, so it hardly matters at this point. The club is still incredibly lucky to have a world class coach at the helm.
What rating would you give each player? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!