Chelsea booked their spot in the Club World Cup final with an impressive win against Fluminense on Tuesday night.
The Blues produced a fantastic team performance to beat Fluminense 2-0 in the semi-final tie, with Joao Pedro stealing the headlines for two magical goals.
It means that Enzo Maresca‘s side will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid in Sunday’s Club World Cup final.
One fascinating subplot of the semi-final showdown was seeing Fluminense captain Thiago Silva, 40, play against his former club. The legendary central defender has gone down in Blues history for his time at Stamford Bridge between 2020 and 2024.
Silva swapped shirts with Trevoh Chalobah on the pitch after Chelsea beat Fluminense.
- READ MORE: What Andrey Santos said about Chelsea legend Thiago Silva before the Club World Cup semi-final
Thiago Silva raves about Joao Pedro
During his post-match interview, Silva singled out Chelsea’s Pedro for huge praise after his two-goal heroics at the Club World Cup.
On his first-ever start for the Blues, the 23-year-old attacker scored two high-quality goals to properly introduce himself to his new club.
Silva said via Globo: “This kid is special; I have a lot of affection for him. A while ago, I recommended him to the people who take care of my physical health. He works with my physiotherapist in Europe, who also takes care of my children.
“I faced him a few times at Chelsea, when he was still at Watford, and (João Pedro) had two great games against us. I said, ‘Man, this kid is special.’ I didn’t expect him to be so inspired today; he hit some great shots. One of our kids knocks us out of such an important competition, but congratulations to him.”
Since joining the Blues from Brighton one week ago, Pedro has quickly won over the supporters. He’s followed up an impressive debut performance off the bench in the quarter-final win against Palmeiras with a masterclass display in the semis.
Football icon Gareth Bale thought Chelsea’s Pedro was phenomenal as he fired his new club to the final of the Club World Cup.
Even though Pedro didn’t celebrate his goals against Fluminense, which is where he played as a youngster, he must have been bursting with excitement inside to get off to such an impressive start in Chelsea colours.
Joao Pedro can achieve his dream at Chelsea
Reports claim that Pedro dreams of becoming a starter for Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The South American forward has a long way to go to add to his three senior international caps, but surely he’ll boost his chances of playing more for Brazil if he becomes the main man at Chelsea.
Even though Blues fans will get overly excited with Pedro’s eye-catching start with them, it’s important for the player to stay grounded. It looks like he’s got all the individual quality to be a key part of Maresca’s team, and the Brazilian flair runs through everything he does on the football pitch.
Pedro must focus on competing with Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap at the club level; then the international journey should take care of itself.
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