An elated Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he is proud of the way his boys played against Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Wednesday. The Blues brushed the last non-European team left in the competition by beating them 2-0 for a place in the final as João Pedro shone with a brace.
Chelsea will play against the winner of the second semi-final, to be played between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Praising their new forward signing Pedro, Maresca said, “We knew against a low block that Joao was going to help us because he has quality in the last third against teams that defend deep. He showed today how good he is, but it’s just the beginning.”
“We knew already how good João is. Today, he was playing a little deep, and we know how good he is at dropping and linking (with his teammates). He is very good technically in small spaces, and that’s why we decided to bring him here,” he added.
Pedro joined Chelsea from Brighton for £60m last week and was pivotal in taking his new team to their third Club World Cup final. Chelsea reached the finals in 2012 and 2021. They lost the 2012 final to Brazilian club Corinthians before beating another club from Brazil, Palmeiras, to win the 2021 Club World Cup.
“We are very happy, very proud to play the final on Sunday,” said Maresca on the win.”The reason why is because this is the first edition of the Club World Cup. The best clubs in the world are here. For us to be in the final is something to be proud of. I know how difficult it is with all the games. Premier League top four, we won the Conference League and now a final here – it is fantastic,” he added.
Chelsea, however, ended the win with ten players after Moises Caicedo was brought off in stoppage time after twisting his ankle. Maresca provided an update on the Ecuadorian midfielder and also explained why Dario Essugo was not included in the match-day squad against Fluminense.
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“Dario had a muscle problem yesterday during the session, probably he is now going to be ready for next season. Moi, twisted his ankle. When it happened, I told him, because there were just two or three minutes to go, that we could finish with 10 players. It’s important that we don’t get too worked up because we have a game on Sunday,” said Maresca.
