Football General Manager
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain failed to add the Club World Cup trophy to their ever-growing collection as they were beaten 3-0 by a Cole Palmer-inspired Chelsea in Sunday’s final. PSG, who were heavy favourites heading into the game, were absolutely stunned by Enzo Maresca’s men on the day, being blanked in the attack while the English club countered their high-press system with ease to secure the title.
Palmer opened the scoring after 22 minutes, slotting home with his left foot from the edge of the box, and the England international doubled Chelsea’s lead eight minutes later, finding the back of the net once again with an identical finish after leaving the PSG defence for dead.
On the verge of half-time, the Blues added a third, with Palmer turning provider as he delivered a delightful ball to Joao Pedro, who chipped PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for his third goal in two appearances for Chelsea since he joined from Brighton.
PSG tried to fight back in the second half as Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha were denied by Robert Sanchez before tempers flared late on as Joao Neves was sent off after pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
BALLGM rates PSG’s players from MetLife Stadium…
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain failed to add the Club World Cup trophy to their ever-growing collection as they were beaten 3-0 by a Cole Palmer-inspired Chelsea in Sunday’s final. PSG, who were heavy favourites heading into the game, were absolutely stunned by Enzo Maresca’s men on the day, being blanked in the attack while the English club countered their high-press system with ease to secure the title.
Palmer opened the scoring after 22 minutes, slotting home with his left foot from the edge of the box, and the England international doubled Chelsea’s lead eight minutes later, finding the back of the net once again with an identical finish after leaving the PSG defence for dead.
On the verge of half-time, the Blues added a third, with Palmer turning provider as he delivered a delightful ball to Joao Pedro, who chipped PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for his third goal in two appearances for Chelsea since he joined from Brighton.
PSG tried to fight back in the second half as Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha were denied by Robert Sanchez before tempers flared late on as Joao Neves was sent off after pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
BALLGM rates PSG’s players from MetLife Stadium…
Gianluigi Donnarumma (5/10):
He could do very little about the goals, though he maybe could have anticipated Palmer’s finishes a little better. Twice made fine saves to deny Delap in the second half.
Achraf Hakimi (5/10):
Some truly world-class moments on the ball from the Moroccan, but he struggled to break free of the man-marking of Neto all game. Locked out of the match, and he never figured out how to jump back in.
Marquinhos (6/10):
Some really strong moments, but was often covering for the lapses in judgement from Beraldo and Mendes, making it tough to assert himself.
Lucas Beraldo (5/10):
Continued in the absence of the suspended Pacho but really struggled to contain both Palmer and Joao Pedro. A performance that left a lot to be desired.
Nuno Mendes (4/10):
Had his hands full with Gusto all game, most notably when he was beaten in the build-up to the opening goal. Struggled to influence the game with his usual defensive prowess while being caught out in the attack on numerous occasions.
Fabian Ruiz (5/10):
Caught out of position for Chelsea’s third, and otherwise struggled to combat the intense midfield pairing of James and Caicedo.
Vitinha (5/10):
Shredded by Palmer for Chelsea’s second and caught behind the play on their third, he had a rough night handling the physicality and pace of the right side of the Blues’ attack.
João Neves (3/10):
Sent off in the 85th minute after a hair-pulling incident with Cucurella. Summed up an extraordinarily poor performance from the young Portugal midfielder.
Desire Doue (5/10):
Squandered a fantastic chance in the first half, but otherwise had a really quiet day. Struggled to compete with Cucurella all match.
Ousmane Dembele (4/10):
Completely blanked in the final third by Chelsea. For a Ballon d’Or favourite, he did not play to the level expected of him on the day.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (4/10):
PSG’s first player to be substituted, the Georgia international had little to no impact on the match. Completely cut out of the game by James and Gusto.
Bradley Barcola (5/10):
Subbed on midway through the second half, but he made very little impact on the match.
Senny Mayulu (5/10):
Replaced Ruiz with 17 minutes to spare, but not much he could do.
Warren Zaire-Emery (5/10):
Subbed on for Hakimi alongside Mayulu.
Goncalo Ramos (5/10):
Brought on to try and get a goal back with 17 minutes left, but barely touched the ball.
Luis Enrique (3/10):
Completely outclassed by Maresca on the touchline. He failed to make quick adjustments throughout the match, and never figured out how to free up his world-class full-back pairing. A defeat he will remember for quite some time.
