After eight minutes of the Club World Cup final, Cole Palmer missed. It was the kind of chance you'd expect him to bury, all said. He received the ball in that Palmer pocket of bliss, top of the box, left foot poised, curved shot loading. These are what Palmer's goals look like. But he misfired, putting his shot into the side netting. At that point, it looked like Chelsea were done. That was their one chance against the Paris Saint-Germain juggernaut, and they had blown it.
Instead, they came alive. Fifteen minutes later, Palmer got a second look, in roughly the same spot, and this time he made no mistake, tucking the ball into the bottom corner. He added another soon after, completing a lovely flowing move with a fiercely similar finish past a sprawling Gianluigi Donnarumma. He had a hand in the third, too, feeding Joao Pedro, who controlled and dinked to give Chelsea a 3-0 lead on the stroke of halftime.
After just 43 minutes, the Blues had basically beaten the European champions. They turned in an enthralling performance against PSG on Sunday night, and were deserved winners of the Club World Cup trophy. A fluid first half gave way to a disciplined second, Chelsea still dangerous on the break but wonderfully resolute at the back - tackles flying, blocks made, fist pumps on show for all. PSG never really came close, other than a couple of big saves from the surprisingly excellent Robert Sanchez, who delivered consistently on the night.
After full time, Luis Enrique spoke about how his team weren't "losers." Indeed, they were merely "runners up" in a high-level tournament. And that might be a fair interpretation of events. But zoom out, and they were thoroughly outplayed here. One team came in with a razor-sharp game plan, a main man in star form, and a coach who believed in it. The other side just looked knackered.
And, more broadly, this is the perfect vindication of Todd Boehly's project. Money cannot buy you a perfect transfer strategy, nor the right players. But it can buy you some very good ones, and, in this case, the right to be called world champions. Chelsea may have stuttered in the Premier League this season, but on this evidence, they could be dark horses for the title in 2025-26.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from MetLife Stadium...
