‘His energy’: Pat Nevin hails Chelsea star’s performance during 2-1 win vs Palmeiras

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Chelsea’s trophy cabinet is now complete after they beat Palmeiras on Saturday evening in the Club World Cup final.

The Blues won the prize for the first time in their history by beating a determined Brazilian side Palmeiras 2-1 after extra-time.

Romelu Lukaku’s bullet header 10 minutes into the second half put the Premier League club in front before Raphael Veiga equalised from the penalty spot shortly after.

Eventually, Kai Havertz held his nerve to convert a 117th minute penalty during extra-time to secure the win. It’s a great story for a player that also scored the winner in the Champions League final last May.

There were several eye-catching performances from players wearing Chelsea shirts, though.

Pat Nevin was keen to point out the individual display of Lukaku, who was substituted off with 15 minutes left to play of the 90.

The 28-year-old centre-forward scored for the second game running in impressive style, but Nevin believes his overall work rate was the biggest positive from his performance.

“He’s scored a goal but it’s not just that… His energy levels are easily the best I’ve seen [from him]. It’s really exciting to see that from the big man because if he buys into all that sort of stuff suddenly we’ve got the player we were all really hoping for at the start,” Nevin said.

Chelsea player reaches double digits

Finally, Chelsea have a player this season who’s reached the 10-goal mark.

Belgian forward Lukaku added another to his personal tally with his towering header from a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross.

There’s a lot of expectation on the Belgian striker to contribute a hatful of goals, so this is a decent small landmark to reach with a lot of football still left to play this campaign.

It’s clear he’s still not anywhere near his best. However, the trip to Abu Dhabi has seen him scored two in two games and hopefully he can take that momentum moving forward.

Manager Thomas Tuchel should challenge his striker to try double his 10 goals from now until the end of the season.

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