As Chelsea booked their place in the final of the Club World Cup with a 2-0 semi-final victory over Fluminense, it was time for one of their club legends to say goodbye to the competition.
Thiago Silva had enjoyed a superb campaign in the United States at the grand age of 40, however his run came to an end at the hands of Enzo Maresca’s side.
It was new signing Joao Pedro who broke the hearts of the Brazilian side, with him scoring twice in his first start for the club.
Pedro didn’t celebrate either goal out of respect for his former side, and the end of the game saw a number of Chelsea players console their former teammate, Silva.
Brazilian media praise Thiago Silva despite Chelsea defeat
Trevoh Chalobah swapped shirts with Silva after the final whistle, who was clearly gutted that his side had been knocked out so close to what would have been a final against either PSG or Real Madrid.
There wasn’t a great deal more the defender could’ve done, and this was recognised by Brazilian media when discussing the game.
GE Globo said: “He cleared at least three crucial balls inside the Tricolor box, one of them almost on the goal line. For the first goal, he cleared the ball off João Pedro’s feet, but it was a difficult clearance. Overall, he was the team’s best player in the game.”
Thiago Silva’s mind games don’t work
Perhaps aware that his side were not going into the semi-final as favourites, Silva tried every trick in the book to try and get an advantage over Chelsea.
This included Silva hinting he had some inside intel on how the Blues were going to play, after spending some time around the first team squad at Cobham earlier this season.
It was perhaps telling that the player who scored both goals for Chelsea was not at the club at the time, although looks as if he is set to establish himself as a key player going forwards.
This will start with the final, where Pedro is now a shoo-in to start against one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
