Club World Cup: João Pedro shines, eliminates Fluminense and puts Chelsea in the final

A youth player from Fluminense, the last non-European team standing in the Club World Cup, was in charge of burying the Carioca club's championship dreams. João Pedro, a Brazilian striker trained at Xerém's academy, scored a brace to send Chelsea to the final of the tournament (2-0), played at MetLife Stadium, on the outskirts of New York.

The striker, signed just a week ago from Brighton, made his debut as a starter for the London club and began to pay for his multimillion-dollar move with important goals. He scored after 18 and 56 minutes on a sweltering night, earning praise from Italian coach Enzo Maresca and guiding the Blues into Sunday's final, where they will face the winner of the clash between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who meet on Wednesday.

"I am very happy to score for the first time with Chelsea, although I know that this tournament meant a lot to Fluminense. I'm sorry, but I'm a professional and Chelsea pays me to score goals," João Pedro said, who, in a show of affection and respect, decided not to celebrate his goals against his club.

Tough defeat for 'Flu

The elimination was very painful for the team coached by Renato Portaluppi. Fluminense was not only left at the gates of a historic final that excited its fans and South American soccer, but was eliminated by a player trained in its own ranks, reopening the debate around the famed "Bosman Law" of 1995. This rule changed global soccer forever, giving European clubs significantly greater power.

In addition to having a much smaller budget than Chelsea, Fluminense arrived at the match with three key absentees: defenders Samuel Xavier and Juan Pablo Freytes, and midfielder Martinelli, one of their best players in the tournament. The English team's superiority was evident in the game.

The first blow came after a recovery by Portugal's Pedro Neto, who led a counter-attack on the right. Thiago Silva's clearance ended up at the feet of João Pedro, who shot past goalkeeper Fábio with a right-footed shot to the far post.

Fluminense tried to react quickly. Hércules, a substitute for Martinelli, came close to an equalizer after a masterful assist from Germán Cano, but Marc Cucurella saved on the line. Then, a penalty called in favor of Flu for handball by Chalobah was disallowed by the VAR in a play that continues to raise controversy, as it could have completely changed the match.

In the second half, the Colombian Jhon Arias got the team going again with a great pass to Everaldo, who was one-on-one with Robert Sánchez, but the Spanish goalkeeper prevented the equalizer.

From then on, the Rio de Janeiro team was dominated by a Chelsea team that was physically fresher and more agile with the ball, thanks to several of its virtuous players. Their captain, Enzo Fernandez, led a quick transition that culminated in another lethal shot by Joao Pedro, this time from the six-yard box, which hit the crossbar before going in.

"It's always very complicated to play against teams as competent and with as much quality as Chelsea, but they knew how to take advantage of the chances they created and, unfortunately, we didn't," Portaluppi acknowledged.

"It's a sad day, but at the same time a very proud day," Colombian Arias added, one of the stars of Flu and the entire Club World Cup, who came out to the mixed zone to apologize to the Brazilian fans for the defeat.