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Chelsea overcame a scare from their soon-to-be new signing Estevao as Cole Palmer's fine finish and a fortunate late winner secured a 2-1 victory over Palmeiras on Friday night, with the English side progressing to the Club World Cup semi-finals. The Blues took an early lead before being pegged back by the wonderkid's wonder strike, but made their dominance pay in the end.
Palmer opened the scoring with a classy piece of individual play. The attacking midfielder rolled his man, found half-a-yard of space and slotted home after just 16 minutes. But Palmeiras enjoyed their moments, too. Estevao - who will join Chelsea after the tournament - caused problems on the right and was instrumental in setting up their best chance of the first half, with left-back Vanderlan planting a free header into the arms of Robert Sanchez.
Estevao made his mark eight minutes after half-time, though, and showed in a brief flash why Chelsea were so eager to bring him in. The 18-year-old beat his man before lashing a vicious strike in off the crossbar from a near-impossible angle and wheeling away in celebration.
However, the Brazilian underdogs were unable to hold on, as the Blues eked out a fortunate winner with just seven minutes left on the clock. They worked the ball down the left to Malo Gusto, whose mishit cross was diverted into the back of the net by the hapless Agustin Giay.
Chelsea were relatively comfortable after that. Palmeiras offered little on the break, while Enzo Maresca's side largely controlled play to cruise into the semi-finals - albeit with a stroke of luck. Another Brazilian side, Fluminense, are next - and you'd back the Blues to grind out a result there, too.
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