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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Source: Channels TV
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