Before a reunion with the legendary striker, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique dismissed concerns about his relationship with Kylian Mbappe and described Wednesday’s Club World Cup semi-final showdown between the European champions and Real Madrid as “special.”
At a press conference held at the MetLife Stadium outside of New York, the Spanish coach of PSG stated to reporters that “playing against Real Madrid is always a special game.”
“We are delighted to be playing in a game like this because it indicates that we have done a good job so far.”
Also read: Wimbledon Line Technology Reaches Semis Again as Fritz Reaches Semis
On July 1, 2025, Spain’s Real Madrid and Juventus’ FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 football match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, France’s French forward #9 Kylian Mbappe greets teammate #30 Gonzalo Garcia as he enters the pitch. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP)
Following Mbappe’s departure for Real, PSG returned to the United States for the tournament after winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time.
Mbappe was initially suspended from the team for refusing to sign a new contract, but Luis Enrique used him sparingly after making it clear he would leave. In his final year in Paris, Enrique was coached by him.
Luis Enrique said, “All I can say is that belongs to the past, it is behind us now.”
This game is “a special game thanks to a lot of things.” Because this is the Club World Cup semi-final, this game is significant. That makes the match very intriguing, and we need to be ready to stay focused.
After receiving both of their red cards in the quarter-final win over Bayern Munich, the coach said, “We are very close to playing another final, and that is a true motivation.”
The Club World Cup marks the start of a new era for Real under their new coach Xabi Alonso, while PSG are aiming to bring an even more silverware-laden season to an end with even more silverware.
Luis Enrique, who is closely associated with Barcelona but also played at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 1990s, said, “I think it’s very difficult to analyze Real Madrid because Xabi Alonso is just starting to work there.”
Real Madrid has always been and always will be a pleasure to play against them.
“They are the most prestigious club in the world, and Xabi has the necessary tools to take on the challenge.”
Real’s coach Alonso did not speak to the media on Tuesday as the Spanish giants’ flight from their training facility in Florida was delayed due to stormy weather.
After beating Fluminense 2-0 in their first last-four tie on Tuesday, the winners of Wednesday’s semi-final will advance to the final on Sunday in Chelsea’s place.
Joao Pedro, a new signing, scored twice in his first start for Chelsea on Tuesday to earn a spot in the Club World Cup final.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain will face off in the final on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium as the Brazilian striker put the finishing touches on the match in deadly fashion in the 18th minute of the final-four match.
The 23-year-old made his debut off the bench in the quarter-final victory over Palmeiras and was signed from Brighton and Hove Albion for a reported £60 million ($79 million) just last week.
On July 8, 2025, Brazil’s Fluminense and England’s Chelsea play at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey’s #04 Ignacio kicks the ball during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semifinal game. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP)
In place of Liam Delap, who was suspended, he received his first Chelsea start-up front.
Joao Pedro made 36 appearances for the first team before joining Watford in 2020, refusing to celebrate either goal against the team with which he started his career.
Also read: Wimbledon Line Technology Reaches Semis Again as Fritz Reaches Semis
The outcome puts an impressive run of form together for Fluminense, who defeated Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, Inter Milan in the last 16, and Al-Hilal, who were Manchester City’s top scorers, in the quarter-finals.
On July 8, 2025, Brazil’s Fluminense and England’s Chelsea play at the MetLife stadium’s MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey’s FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semifinal match. Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper is #01 Robert Sanchez, Chelsea’s Spanish defender #03 Marc Cucurella, Chelsea’s English defender #04 Tosin Adarabioyo, Chelsea’s Brazilian defender #24 Reece James, and Chelsea’s Brazilian forward #09 Everald (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)
With their exit, Chelsea will have the chance to win the first 32-team edition of the Club World Cup, which they won back-to-back against Brazilian opposition.
One of Europe’s superpowers will always have the best chance of winning the trophy, with the final now guaranteed to be between two of the top five UEFA Champions League winners.
Due to the significant budgetary gap between the other three teams that have left the United States, Fluminense coach Renato Portaluppi had called his team the “ugly duckling” of the tournament.
Reece James, Chelsea’s English defender, claps to the fans after winning the semifinal game of the FIFA World Cup 2025 between Brazil’s Fluminense and Chelsea of England at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 8, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP)
For their team, which was led by 40-year-old former Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, who ultimately proved this match to be too far.
Caicedo back  
Levi Colwill and Delap, who have been suspended by Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, were replaced by midfielder Moises Caicedo after he was banned for the win over Palmeiras in Philadelphia.
In a game that was watched by 70, 556 people outside of New York City on a hot afternoon, the Premier League team was simply too strong for their opponents.
On July 8, 2025, Fluminense’s players greet fans at the end of Brazil’s semifinal match against England’s Chelsea at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP photo)
After Silva cleared a Pedro Neto cross, Silva fired a wonderful strike to give them a commanding lead into the bottom of the box.
Joao Pedro raised his hands uncontrollably toward the Fluminense fans massed behind the goal before curling a shot past veteran goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner.
Hercules almost equalized in the 25th minute after the match-winner against Al-Hilal in the final eight. The Rio de Janeiro team was a persistent threat.
On July 8, 2025, Brazil’s Fluminense and England’s Chelsea play at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to celebrate their team’s victory. Chelsea’s English defender #04 Tosin Adarabioyo (L), Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper #01 Robert Sanchez, and Chelsea’s English defender #23 Trevoh Chalobah celebrate their team’s victory. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)
After he and German Cano made a one-two save, Marc Cucurella returned to clear off the line and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Ten minutes before the break, Rene’s set-piece delivery hit Trevoh Chalobah’s arm in the box, which gave Fluminense a penalty.
Following a VAR check, French referee Francois Letexier overturned the decision, however.
After Fluminense had sacrificed one of their three centre-backs to send on an additional attacker, Chelsea were awarded the second on 56 minutes.
Joao Pedro, who scored 10 goals for Brighton in the Premier League last season, put together another impressive finish in off the bar after Enzo Fernandez’s release on the break.
Chelsea had other chances to get goals, but the new boy’s double struck was enough.
Taylor Fritz’s quarter-final victory over Karen Khachanov on Tuesday left the under-fire line technology system in a troubling state.
When a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline, the Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell was forced to stop a point in the fourth set’s opening game on Court One.
The phrase “fault” rather than “out” and the ball’s position suggested that Fritz’s serve was still being tracked rather than a rally, and the situation required to be replayed.
The ball from Fritz’s first serve was still being retrieved when he began lining up his second, according to the tournament’s organizers, who claimed the system had failed to reset.
According to an All England Club statement, “the player’s service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net, and the system didn’t recognize the point’s beginning.”
The chair umpire ordered that the discussion be replayed, as it happened.
Following a major error in Sonay Kartal’s fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s draw, Wimbledon officials earlier this week stated that they were confident of avoiding further issues with the technology.
The new system failed to call out when Kartal’s shot went far behind the baseline.
For the first time this year, a fully automated system has replaced the human-line judges at Wimbledon in a way that matches the Australian Open and US Open.
Other players have raised concerns and glitches about the technology, including British actors Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu.
Fritz won 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), but the controversy did not prevent him from reaching his first Wimbledon semifinal.
It’s a more effective system, they say.
Despite the most recent technological flaw, Fritz defended the line system.
“It occasionally occurs. He said that because I got a first serve out of it, I believe I lost the point in that situation in any case.
“There will be some issues here and there,” he said. Since I’m not going to lie, I still believe it’s much better to have the electronic line calling call the lines rather than the umpires.
I like not having to consider challenging calls in the middle of a discussion, as I previously mentioned earlier in the week. I like that there are no arguments over calls and other issues.
“The ball gets called, and we know that,” according to the statement. It’s a better system, in my opinion.
Khachanov criticized the system’s use this year and expressed disappointment with it.
“Look, I’m more for line umpires, to be honest. We’ve seen a few electronic line calls, but they must be very precise and without any errors. Why is this taking place, he said, is fragile.
“Today, I believe there were a few calls,” he said. I’m not sure whether or not it actually touches the line. It’s a very questionable question.
The machine calls it “as well as out” at one point during the rally. You may be wondering if letting machines do what they want is sometimes frightening.
What are my options? I can debate and be enraged, or I can just keep playing. Not at my disposal. It has already occurred. That’s it, and I have to kind of accept it.
