Key events
32 min: Justin Kavanagh writes: So is Estêvão’s approach tonight “If you can’t beat them, join them”? Or is it a case of “If you don’t want to join them just yet, beat them”?
Probably more of a case of “if you can’t make that much money without them, join them.”
30 min: Fuchs makes some angry gestures toward Delap after the Chelsea man barges into Allan. Delap isn’t making many friends here tonight.
29 min: Chelsea’s possession is somewhere in the 70% range, which normally is not a reliable indicator of who’s getting the better of play but happens to be a pretty good snapshot of the game at the moment.
27 min: Weverton, Palmeiras’ standout goalkeeper, has taken a seat and is now getting attention from the trainers. The break in the action turns into an unofficial cooling break.
24 min: Chelsea win the ball back after a very brief Palmeiras possession, and Neto again beats a defender or three on his way into the area from the right flank. His cross barely misses three teammates lined up but marked at close range.
21 min: Apparently a defective game ball, which I believe it not the first time that’s happened in this tournament.
20 min: Two shots for Chelsea in two minutes. Cucurella takes a speculative shot from outside the area off the corner, but it’s handled easily. Enzo Fernandez is next up from 20 yards but puts it straight into Weverton’s secure hands.
18 min: Corner for Chelsea as Palmeiras struggle to deal with a cross from Palmer, who’s running rampant here.
He’s been in Chelsea’s first team for a couple of years now, and still, whenever I hear “Cole Palmer” in an English accent, I hear it as “Carl Palmer,” drummer of ELP and Asia.
Gooooal! Palmeiras 0-1 Chelsea (Palmer 16)
Simple but effective. Palmer turns to receive a pass, wrong-foots a defender and slots the ball into the net from the top of the area.
14 min: Tempers flare a bit as Liam Delap gives Augustin Giay a little push, with neither player near the ball. Giay understandably takes exception.
11 min: The plentiful Palmeiras supporters register their disapproval after Chelsea take a free kick. Chelsea maintain possession, and Gusto gets all the way down to the goal line for a cross to Enzo Fernandez, who puts a shot wide under pressure.
10 min: Another promising Chelsea possession, but Estêvão drives against future teammate Cucurella and wins a corner.
7 min: Vitor Roque carries the ball about 50 yards into the Chelsea half but finds no passing lanes back to the center. They still maintain possession until Cucurella wins a 50-50 ball with Allan. Palmeiras want a whistle, but Cucurella was simply first to the ball, and Allan clattered into his leg and got the worst of it.
6 min: Palmeiras not really pressing, so Chelsea knock the ball around for a while. They finally find a seam, but it’s closed down quickly.
5 min: SHOT for Chelsea, as Cole Palmer drills a shot from just outside the area that forces Weverton to dive and punch it out for a corner.
3 min: A surging run in the penalty area for Pedro Neto, perhaps reassuring anyone that he will indeed be able to play despite grieving for his close friend Diogo Jota.
1 min: Palmeiras win a corner quickly. (Ignore my previous comment that Chelsea won it. I am not yet in Da Zone.)
Moment of silence
Does anyone wonder why most of the world does a minute of silence while the USA only do a moment?
In any case, the teams stand on the center circle and pause to remember Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.
And we’re off …
Late change
Reece James is ruled out with injury. Enter Brazilian Andrey Santos.
How’s the weather?
Currently 79 degrees in Philadelphia, with a “feels like” of 80. Should be fine.
Hi, email people!
Peter Oh promises to keep his messages free of references to Philadelphia’s favorite fictional son, Rocky Balboa: “Palmeiras was founded by Italian immigrants and Philadelphia also has a long history of Italian immigration, so it’s fitting that the São Paulo club is considered the home team today. My favorite team in the Brazilian megalopolis is São Paulo FC, but I’ll make an exception today and root for Philly! I mean Palmeiras. Forza Palestra Italia!”
Justin Kavanagh notes the lack of English players with the English club: “Abel Ferreira’s rallying cry for local Philly fans to support the Brazilians against the English was a cute bit of chicanery, with echoes of Diego Maradona’s call for Neopolitans to cheer against Italy at the 1990 World Cup. But ‘the British are coming, the British are coming’ doesn’t really resonate when it’s Chelsea, with all of four English players in the starting 11, one of whom was born in Africa!”
Which team costs more?
Let’s say you’re starting up a club and have a few billion Euros lying around. How much would it cost you to buy all the players from either of these clubs, according to TransferMarkt?
Palmeiras checks in at 256.6m Euros.
Chelsea? 1.2 billion Euros. But maybe you can take advantage of their special summer pricing.
And still they keep buying, including a transfer between tonight’s teams, taking away Palmeiras’ most expensive player (TransferMarkt value: 60m Euros …
Who’s left from 2021 final?
The 2021 final was played in February 2022. Blame Covid.
Chelsea’s lineup that day: Edouard Mendy; Antonio Rüdiger, Thiago Silva, Andreas Christiansen (Malang Sarr); Callum Hudson-Odoi (Saúl Ñíguez), Mateo Kovacic (Hakim Ziyech), N’Golo Kanté, César Azpilicueta; Kai Havertz, Mason Mount (Christian Pulisic); Romelu Lukaku (Timo Werner)
Tonight’s Chelsea lineup: Robert Sanchez; Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Malo Gusto; Enzo Fernandez, Reece James; Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer; Liam Delap
So that’s … no one.
Palmeiras 2021/2: Weverton; Gustavo Scarpa, Joaquin Piquerez, Luan, Gustavo Gomez, Marcos Rocha (Deyverson); Dudu (Rafael Navarro), Ze Rafael (Jailson), Danilo, Rony (Wesley); Raphael Veiga (Eduard Atuesta)
Tonight’s Palmeiras lineup: Weverton; Vanderlan, Bruno Fuchs, Micael, Agustin Giay; Emiliano Martinez, Richard Rios; Facundo Torres, Allan Andrade, Estêvão; Vitor Roque
Congratulations, Weverton. You are the only person remaining.
Preamble
One side of the Club World Cup semi-finals will be all-European. Will the other side be all-Brazilian?
Fluminense have booked their place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Al-Hilal, the Saudi team that eliminated Manchester City in the Game of the Century (so far). Can Palmeiras join them and set up the ultimate showdown of Rio vs. São Paulo (aka Carioca vs. Paulista)? Or will this upstart club from London called Chelsea knock them out?
Chelsea will be playing through off-field distractions – a hefty fine from Uefa and the tragic death of Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, whose close friend Pedro Neto may miss this match. (UPDATE: Pedro Neto is in the starting XI.)
This quarter-final is a rematch of the 2021 final, which Chelsea won 2-1 in extra time. Chelsea that year featured a young American named Christian Pulisic. We understand he’s no longer there.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Jacob Steinberg’s latest dispatch from Philadelphia.
