Joao Pedro scored two stunning goals in his first start for Chelsea while defeating Fluminense with 2-0 to reach the final of the club World Cup.
The signing of £ 60 million from Brighton was making his first start for Chelsea and showed why they wanted him with a goal in every half to let the Brazilian side sink where he started his career and set up a final meeting with Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea has passed a few fears to keep their first half a lead, Marc Cucurella did well to remove the ball from the line after Hercules Robert Sanchez had defeated his shot. Trevor Chalobah then initially saw the referee awarding a fine against him.
The ball hit the Chelsea defender on the hand after a left-wing free kick, but a VAR review saw the official change of thoughts and ruled that the hand of the English international had been in a natural position. The Fluminen players were furious with the call.
In the blistering heat of New Jersey, the fear of Chelsea was that they could falter under pressure. But when Fluminense chased the equalizer, they were punished during the break by that man Joao Pedro. His powerful strike sent Chelsea to Sunday's final.
Player of the match: Joao Pedro
Chelsea had already made almost £ 60 million in participation and prize money for reaching the semi -final of the tournament and they made another £ 22 million with their victory over Fluminense. Another £ 29 million is at stake in the final at the weekend.
In other words, Joao Pedro has quickly paid off part of his fee with this shameful full debut. The new signing of Chelsea had not scored from outside the box in 70 games before his previous club Brighton, but it took him only 18 minutes to curl the ball home here.
If that effort showed his class, his second half strike emphasized other asset-being capacity as a ball carrier on the counterattack, his dribbling threat and the power of his shooting. It was an emphatic finish from the Brazilian to anything but the hope of Fluminense.
Nicolas Jackson was responsible for the weight of responsibility last season to lead the line for Chelsea, but with Liam Delap who made an encouraging start of his career at the club, this performance of Joao Pedro further proved that the blues have been strengthened.
His flowing movement makes him a different proposition and he even contributed on the other side of the field with a crucial defensive header late in the first half. He did not celebrate against the former Fluminense club. But there will still be many parties.
More to follow …
Who then plays Chelsea?
Chelsea is confronted with Paris St-Germain or Real Madrid in the club World Cup final in the Metlife Stadium of New Jersey. The winners of the Champions League will take it at the same location on Wednesday evening.