2025 Club World Cup Final: Chelsea from outsider to champion contender

Although it cannot be regarded as the favorite to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea is now only one game away from its peak. So what helped the "Blue Army" go so far in this game?

In the group stage, Chelsea only advanced as second in Group D, and their performance failed to reassure fans. However, after entering the knockout stage, the team led by coach Enzo Maresca showed a new look. They defeated Benfica 4-1, Palmeiras 2-1, and Fruminense 2-0, and advanced to the finals with their heads held high.

Find the winning formula

After a difficult start-up phase, coach Enzo Maresca gradually created a unique game style for Chelsea, especially in the second half of last season. London teams ranked in the Premier League and won the Europa League, creating an important spiritual atmosphere for the club's World Cup campaign.

Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea showed an organized ball-handling style, knowing how to keep pace and speed up at the right time. When they lose the ball, they immediately put pressure on the team, put pressure on their opponents, and regain the ball as fast as possible.

More notably, this active gameplay helps Chelsea not to over-expend physically, especially when playing in the United States, where the weather conditions are very harsh. While many South American teams choose to play offensively, Chelsea makes good use of the space and maintains enough strength while still maintaining high efficiency.

Favorite stages

Chelsea were lucky enough to avoid Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. At first, they were predicted to face Manchester City or Inter Milan, but both teams were unexpectedly eliminated early.

Not confronting the "bigs" helped Chelsea beat underrated opponents like Benfica, Palmeiras and Fruminense in a rather "easy" way. This allows them to preserve their strength and maintain a steady state of mind in the upcoming finals.

Instead, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) - Chelsea's opponent in the final - experienced a tense match against Bayern and Real Madrid. Despite the victory, PSG certainly consumes a lot of physical strength and energy, which may affect their form in the final game.

Disadvantages that need to be overcome

In the process of advancing to the final, although Chelsea easily defeated their opponents, their style of playing also exposed many problems. The most prominent thing is that the ability to grasp opportunities is limited, and sometimes the defense is inattentive.

Regarding the ability to seize opportunities, Chelsea is actively improving with forward Joao Pedro's appearance - he scored two goals in the Chelsea semi-final against Fruminense. Joao Pedro is a timely addition to Chelsea's offensive line, especially when Nicholas Jackson failed to meet expectations and Liam Delp was suspended.

But the defensive ability has not yet been improved may become Chelsea's biggest concern in the final. The team led by coach Enzo Maresca will face Paris Saint-Germain's in good shape. But the Italian coach can enhance Chelsea's defensive solidity by lowering the defensive midfielder and assisting the centre-back. This approach works very well, as Chelsea currently has very high-level defensive midfielders, the most prominent of which is Mois Kessedo.