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Paris Saint-Germain took to the field dreaming of a historic quintuplet, but were left to finish the 2024/25 season in bruising circumstances as they were demolished 3-0 by Chelsea FC in the FIFA Club World Cup final.
##### The Match
PSG had entered this match dreaming of a historic quintuplet, but it was clear from the first whistle that they needed to wake up. _Les Parisiens_ were not given a moment to settle on the ball, and the early warning signs were there when space opened up on the edge of the box for Cole Palmer to whistle wide.
The near miss seemed to spark something in the Champions League winners. Désiré Doué was given two chances, the first he opted to pass rather than shoot and his unselfish act fell into the lap of Marc Cucurella, and in the second, his effort was denied by Robert Sánchez. However, this threat was short-lived, as Chelsea had spotted something no other team had found: a weak link in the imperious armour.
_The Blues_ continually launched long balls down Nuno Mendes’s wing, forcing him into one-on-one contests. And in the 22nd minute, they found their opener. Malo Gusto received the ball and left Mendes tumbling to the ground. The former Olympique Lyonnais man fired a shot off, but was blocked by Lucas Beraldo.
However, the ball fell kindly for the full-back and he offered up a second bite of the cherry to Palmer. The Englishman poked a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner to give the UEFA Europa Conference League champions the lead. It was déjà vu eight minutes later, when Palmer swept inside from the right, lost Vitinha, and then hit the same corner.
PSG’s misery continued minutes before the end of the first half. Palmer spotted the space between Beraldo and Mendes to provide João Pedro with an inch-perfect pass. The recent signing stormed into a one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma and then dinked his shot over the Italian keeper.
Something had to change for PSG. They had looked like a pale imitation of themselves, and it was clear that Luis Enrique had lit a fire underneath them during the half-time break, as they came out with far more intensity. However, they still couldn’t find a route past an inspired Sánchez.
The Spaniard has struggled during his time at Chelsea to convincingly win over hearts and minds, and the club have been linked this summer with Mike Maignan. However, in this final, he was exceptional. He denied Ousmane Dembélé at near point-blank range before later preventing a long effort from Vitinha with a fingertip save.
_Les Parisiens_ needed an early goal to change the game, but instead they grew frustrated and as the game wore on close to the end, that finally spilt over. João Neves clashed frequently with Cucurella and, in a silly decision, pulled the full-back’s hair. The incident was missed by the referee, but in a VAR review, it was an easy red card to give.
A new era in the French capital would come unstuck in humiliating circumstances as nothing seemed to go their way from the first whistle. While Chelsea had arrived with an intelligent game plan that worked phenomenally well, they would become the deserved world champions.
##### Chelsea Player Ratings
**Robert Sánchez, 9**
**Marc Cucurella, 8**
**Levi Colwill, 7**
**Trevoh Chalobah, 7**
**Malo Gusto, 8**
**Enzo Fernández, 7**
**Moisés Caicedo, 8**
**Reece James, 7**
**Pedro Neto, 7**
**João Pedro, 8**
**Cole Palmer, 10**
##### PSG player ratings
**Gianluigi Donnarumma, 3**
**Nuno Mendes, 2**
**Lucas Beraldo, 2**
**Marquinhos, 4**
**Achraf Hakimi, 4**
**Fabián Ruiz, 5**
**Vitinha, 4**
**João Neves, 4**
**Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 4**
**Ousmane Dembélé, 3**
**Désiré Doué, 5**
[GFFN](https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/) | [Nick Hartland](https://twitter.com/NickHartland_)