Fluminense 0-2 Chelsea: Joao Pedro stars on full debut to seal Club World Cup final place

Joao Pedro scored two stunning goals to propel Chelsea to a 2-0 win over Fluminense and into the final of the Club World Cup.

Signed from Brighton last week, Joao Pedro came off the bench to help Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.

And up against his former club on Tuesday, the Brazilian stole the show on his full Blues debut.

Having curled in a sensational 18th-minute opener, Joao Pedro put Chelsea two to the good shortly before the hour at MetLife Stadium, hammering in off the crossbar at the end of a fine run.

Chelsea had Marc Cucurella to thank when he made a goal-line clearance not long after Joao Pedro’s opener, denying Hercules.

The Blues also survived a penalty shout when, after initially giving a spot-kick for a handball by Trevoh Chalobah, referee Francois Letexier changed his mind following a VAR review.

Malo Gusto went close to putting the result beyond all doubt, while Nicolas Jackson squandered a great opportunity when he hit the near post rather than find the unmarked Cole Palmer, but Chelsea saw out the victory with relative ease to tee up a showpiece clash with either Real Madrid or European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Enzo Maresca, though, may have some concern over an ankle injury sustained by Moises Caicedo late on.

9 – @ChelseaFC‘s last nine goals (excluding own goals) in the @FIFACWC have been scored by nine different players. Variety. pic.twitter.com/EXBtV96ocH

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 8, 2025

Data Debrief: Joao Pedro’s happy reunion

Joao Pedro vowed not to celebrate should he find the net against his boyhood club, and he kept his promise. He is the first Brazilian to score for Chelsea in an official match since Thiago Silva did so against Sheffield United in the 2023-24 season.

Silva captained Fluminense, and matters could have been different for them had Hercules managed to beat Cucurella on the line.

Chelsea, though, were the better side, accumulating 1.6 expected goals from their 17 shots, compared to Fluminense’s 0.92 xG from 13 attempts.