Chelsea defeated Palmeiras 2-1 on Friday night to secure a berth in the Club World Cup semifinals. Malo Gusto’s goal in the 83rd minute set the tone following two deflections.
Cole Palmer gave Chelsea the lead in the 16th minute, but an angled shot in the 53rd minute from 18-year-old Estêvão, who will join Chelsea this summer, knotted the score against his future team.
A short corner kick seemed to deflect Gusto’s effort off goalie Weverton and defender Agustin Giay, sending the 65,782 Chelsea supporters into a frenzy. FIFA gave Weverton an own goal credit.
Estevao equalized for Palmeiras with an incredible goal. Estevao is a bright young player who is expected to join Chelsea after the tournament. He dribbled past Levi Colwill with skill, then fired a strong shot that struck the crossbar and went in. Estevao’s goal emphasized his future possibilities at Chelsea and demonstrated his potential.
Palmer became the tenth English player to score in this edition of the Club World Cup, making his effort noteworthy. Chelsea players have scored six of these goals. Palmer also contributed considerably to Chelsea’s 1.14 predicted goals with four attempts and two created chances.
Despite only managing 0.21 predicted goals, Palmeiras’ few highlights were Estevao’s outstanding finish. Estevao, who is only 18 years and 71 days old, is the second-youngest player in this year’s competition, after Rodrigo Mora of Porto.
Thiago Silva and his Fluminense colleagues will play Chelsea on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium. Their impending semi-final matchup now has an interesting storyline thanks to their reunion.
Given Estevao’s outstanding performance against Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, who is watching from the sidelines, must be excited to collaborate with him. Because of his talent, the Brazilian and his prospective club have exciting times ahead of them.
As Chelsea gets ready for their upcoming matchup with Fluminense, their adventure continues. They are set for a thrilling semifinal matchup with important players like Palmer stepping up and fresh talent like Estevao on the horizon.
