End of the line for Fluminense, the Brazilian club based in Rio de Janeiro who defeated Inter Milan and Al Hilal to reach Club World Cup semi-finals. They couldn't do it against Chelsea, the first finalist of this new FIFA competition, suffering defeat 2-0 on Tuesday, with two goals by João Pedro.
Precisely, by a footballer who started his career at Fluminense, signed by Chelsea just one week ago, on July 2, from Brighton and Hove Albion, who barely had any time to get to know his teammates before his debut in the quarter-finals. Pedro, aged 23, refused to celebrate out of respect for the club, but couldn't hide his smile, knowing he had gained the trust of every Blue out there, and after last season playing third-tier competition Conference League, they are ready to fight for Champions League again.
Meanwhile, Fluminense still showed good defensive skills denying Chelsea of a rout, although they were also unlucky with a handball penalty that was ruled out by VAR and a clean shot that was denied by Cucurella under the crossbar.
Chelsea will now face Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid on July 13 at 20:00 BST, 21:00 CEST.