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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca insisted winning the Club World Cup meant as much as winning the Champions League after his side beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the first edition of FIFA’s new competition on Sunday.

“I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important than, the Champions League,” said Maresca after adding the trophy to the UEFA Conference League title his team won in May.

Maresca only took over at Chelsea a year ago but was previously on the coaching staff under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when they won the Champions League in 2023.

“I was lucky to be on the coaching staff of a team that won the Champions League a few years ago, but this competition features the best teams in the world and I think we can value it on the same level,” said the Italian.

“It is a great triumph for us and it will allow the Chelsea fans to have that on our shirt for the next four years, so it is a source of pride.”

Maresca said he instructed his players to go out and take the game to PSG from the off — they went on to net all three goals in the first half with Cole Palmer netting a brace before Joao Pedro added his name to the scoresheet.

“The message was to let them understand that we were here to win the game and I think in the first 10 minutes we showed them that,” Maresca said.

“That set the tone of the game, and then the quality of the players was also important.”

England international Palmer was named player of the match after bagging a brace and setting up Joao Pedro’s goal.

The 23-year-old therefore lived up to his superstar billing — his face has appeared on billboards around New York advertising the tournament, alongside the likes of Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

“To score the goals was a great feeling, as was the way the team showed fire out there — the gaffer’s game plan was spot on,” he said.

“I just try to do my job every time I go onto the pitch and hopefully I will continue.

“I have seen the billboards in Times Square and outside Madison Square Garden and it is obviously a nice feeling to be alongside those players,” he added.

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Cole Palmer rang up two goals and one assist in a sensational first half and Chelsea toppled Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday.
Palmer scored in the 22nd and 30th minutes and Joao Pedro tacked on the third goal right before halftime, capitalizing on Palmer’s fine touch into the box. Robert Sanchez, meanwhile, saved six shots in his best showing of the tournament.
Chelsea, who won the 2021 Club World Cup that featured only eight teams, battled past Portugal’s Benfica and Brazilian sides Palmeiras and Fluminense in the knockouts to face Paris Saint-Germain — six weeks removed from their first UEFA Champions League trophy.
PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma made two saves on five shots on goal. The European champions had allowed just one goal in their first six matches of the Cup.
The frustrated Parisians went down to 10 men in the 85th minute when Joao Neves pulled Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella by the hair, was caught on video review and shown red.
Cucurella made a crucial stop to keep the game scoreless in the 16th minute. Fabian Ruiz made a great pass across the box to Desire Doue, who could have shot it but instead tried a centering pass to a teammate that Cucurella intercepted.
Six minutes later, Palmer — whose first attempt barely missed wide left in the eighth — got the scoring started.
Malo Gusto picked up a wayward header from PSG’s Nuno Mendes and ran into the box. After a fancy dribble to create space, his shot was blocked right back to his feet, so he fed Palmer for a left-footer to the bottom left corner.
Levi Colwill earned the assist on the second goal for his long ball downfield to Palmer. From there, Palmer calmly dribbled toward the center of the 18-yard line and fired the same low, left-footer for an identical goal.
In the 43rd, Palmer tapped a pass between two defenders for Pedro, who popped his shot over a sprawling Donnarumma’s right shoulder.
Sanchez dove to meet Neves’ stoppage-time header just before the goal line. His heroics continued in the second half, as he swatted away a shot by Ousmane Dembele from close range.