The World is Blue. Deserved champions. Put three past the defending UCL winners and ran away with the world title. Even had the Parisians losing their cool at the very end. Sacre bleu. In a tournament where everyone overlooked Chelsea from the start, they end up coming out victorious in the sweetest of ways. The type of club that thrives in the face of doubt, and the only one in history to have won all major trophies they’ve played in. This one will make a nice addition to an already stacked cabinet. A true privilege to get to cover their road to glory, culminating with such a memorable afternoon at MetLife. Congratulations to the World Champions.

Photography by: Peter Bonilla & Rodolfho Chona

Cole Palmer delivered a dazzling first-half performance as Chelsea shocked Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to claim the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup title in its new 32-team format. In front of over 81,000 fans—and even U.S. President Donald Trump—at MetLife Stadium, the 22-year-old English midfielder scored twice and assisted João Pedro in a first-half masterclass that sealed the club’s second world title.

Coming into the final, PSG were riding high after demolishing Real Madrid in the semifinal and aiming to complete a historic quadruple. But Chelsea, winners of Europe’s third-tier Conference League and viewed as underdogs, flipped the script with an aggressive, tactically astute display from the opening whistle.

The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute after PSG fullback Nuno Mendes gave away possession deep in his half. Malo Gusto pounced, drove forward, and found Palmer in space, who guided a precise low finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Just eight minutes later, Palmer doubled Chelsea’s lead with a piece of individual brilliance. Played in by Levi Colwill, he faked a pass to freeze his defender and buried a mirror-image finish into the bottom corner.

Before PSG could recover, Palmer turned provider. Bursting up the channel, he slipped a pass through for João Pedro, who timed his run perfectly and lifted a delicate chip over Donnarumma to make it 3-0 by halftime.

“It’s a great feeling,” Palmer told DAZN post-match. “Everyone doubted us before the game. The gaffer set us up brilliantly and gave me the freedom—I just had to repay the trust.”

Palmer’s efforts earned him the tournament’s Golden Ball as best player and cemented his status as the face of Chelsea’s resurgent project under Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea’s success wasn’t just about individual brilliance—it was a coaching clinic. Maresca’s side mirrored the high press that troubled PSG in the group stage against Botafogo, forcing errors early and nullifying Luis Enrique’s possession-based system.

“We won the game in the first 10 minutes,” Maresca said. “We set the tempo, we found the spaces for Cole, and the boys executed perfectly. I couldn’t be prouder.”

While Chelsea controlled proceedings, PSG unraveled. Their frustrations boiled over late when João Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair, and post-match tensions escalated when Luis Enrique appeared to lash out at João Pedro.

The win caps a transformative year for Chelsea, who now hold both the Conference League and Club World Cup titles. For Palmer, it’s yet another career-defining performance on a big stage—almost exactly a year after scoring in the Euro 2024 final.

For PSG, a season that promised historic dominance ends in abrupt disappointment. “They worked well on our weaknesses,” said captain Marquinhos. “Now it’s on us to adapt.”

But Sunday night belonged to Chelsea—cool, clinical, and once again, champions of the world.