Joao Pedro’s brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final

New signing Joao Pedro scored twice on his first start as Chelsea defeated Fluminense 2-0 on Tuesday to reach the Club World Cup final.

Pedro opened the scoring in lethal fashion in the 18th minute of the last-four clash at the MetLife Stadium and struck again shortly before the hour mark as Chelsea set up a showdown with either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Sunday’s final.

Signed from Brighton and Hove Albion last week for a reported £60 million ($79 million), the Brazilian striker cut short a holiday and made his debut off the bench in the quarter-final win over Palmeiras.

He was then given his first Chelsea start up front here in place of the suspended Liam Delap.

Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020.

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The result ends Fluminense’s impressive run at the tournament after the 2023 Copa Libertadores winners held Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, beat Inter Milan in the last 16, and knocked out Manchester City’s conquerors Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals.

With their exit go the prospects of a South American winner of the first 32-team Club World Cup, with Chelsea claiming back-to-back victories against Brazilian opposition to reach the final.

As always seemed most likely, the trophy will be claimed by one of Europe’s superpowers, with the final now guaranteed to be between two of the last five winners of the UEFA Champions League.

The Star