Joao Pedro doubled his tally against Fluminense with a stunning strike off the underside of the crossbar
Chelsea are certainly not lacking in attacking options, but Joao Pedro may have just given himself a significant advantage over his new colleagues ahead of Sunday’s Club World Cup final.
The Brazilian, who recently joined Chelsea from Brighton, is one of 19 forwards to have signed for the Blues under their American ownership, who have invested £600m in attacking talent since taking control in 2022.
Following his debut in the Club World Cup quarter-final victory over Palmeiras on Saturday, the forward was given his first start in the semi-final against Fluminense – his boyhood club – and marked his arrival with two remarkable goals either side of halftime.
In the 18th minute, the Brazilian collected a partially cleared cross on the edge of the penalty area, took a touch to settle himself, and then unleashed a powerful drive past 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner to open the scoring.
His second goal was equally impressive as he latched onto Enzo Fernandez’s through-ball from near the halfway line, surged into the box, and fired a right-footed shot into the net off the crossbar 11 minutes into the second half.
With Chelsea poised to receive £21.9m for reaching the final – where they will face either Real Madrid or Paris St-Germain – Joao Pedro’s goalscoring exploits on Tuesday mean he has already justified over a third of his transfer fee.
“It was a dream,” he told DAZN afterwards. “I don’t think it could have gone any better.
“I’m happy to have scored my first goals. [The Club World Cup] would be my first title as well. I only came here a week ago, and now I’m going to play the final.”
Have Chelsea finally found the solution to their center-forward issues?
Enzo Maresca’s side have wasted no time in strengthening their attacking resources this summer, bringing in Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City’s Liam Delap and Brazilian teenager Estevao Willian from Palmeiras – as well as Joao Pedro.
The former Brighton striker, who scored 30 goals in 70 games for the Seagulls after joining from Watford in 2023, has been signed to provide competition for the number nine and 10 positions.
And he staked his claim for a regular place in Maresca’s team with a superb full debut at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
The Brazilian found the net with two of his three attempts – and with both his efforts on target. Only Christopher Nkunku registered as many shots, while no other Blues player had as many shots on target.
The forward also gave the Blues an attacking focal point, competing in nine duels and four aerial duels before being replaced by Nicolas Jackson on the hour mark.
Only Nkunku and Moises Caicedo – both of whom were on the pitch a lot longer – registered more duels overall, with only Marc Cucurella and Trevoh Chalobah taking part in as many aerial tussles.
“It’s not just the goals,” said ex-Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale on DAZN. “It’s the link-up play, it’s the passing, it’s the vision. It was a great all-round performance.
“This is the next step up in his career. He’s on the right trajectory. We can see the ability he’s got and hopefully he can keep kicking on.”
England forward Callum Wilson added: “He’s already a player with confidence but he will have wanted to hit the ground running straight away and that’s exactly what he has done.
“What a signing he could turn out to be.”
Joao Pedro often drifted out wide to both flanks against Fluminense…
While Liam Delap tended to stay more central against ES Tunis, linking play on the edge of the box…
And most of Nicolas Jackson’s touches against Los Angeles FC also came down the middle of the pitch
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Joao Pedro registered 26 touches of the ball against Fluminense. Of all Chelsea forwards to have started at the Club World Cup, only Jackson has managed as many touches in a match.
Not all of the Brazilian’s touches took place inside the opposition half, however – far from it.
He was involved all over the pitch in Tuesday’s quarter-final, with seven of his touches coming inside his own half.
“The good thing about Joao is that we knew already how good he was,” said Maresca after the game, also revealing he spoke to ex-Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi prior to signing him.
“Today he played deep but we know he is able to drop deep and link up the play. That’s why we decided to bring him in.”
By contrast, Delap only touched the ball twice inside his own half after starting Chelsea’s final group game against Tunis, while only four of Jackson’s touches against Palmeiras took place in the Blues’ half of the pitch.
Joao Pedro also made more of an impact in wide areas, regularly popping up on both flanks in an effort to influence Chelsea’s build-up play.
The majority of Delap and Jackson’s touches, meanwhile, were in central areas in the final third of the pitch.
“Every team has a different style to play: Delap has a style, Jackson another and I have my way,” Joao Pedro said before Tuesday’s game.
“I think whoever brings more good things to the team is going to play.”
On this evidence, Joao Pedro has more than an outside chance of beating both Delap and Jackson to a starting berth in Sunday’s showpiece.
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