PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’

PSG were spellbinding during their 4-0 victory against Real Madrid. (AFP)
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Updated 13 July 2025
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PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has urged his team to round off the best season in the club’s history by winning the Club World Cup, but warned not to expect Sunday’s final against Chelsea to be a “simple formality.”
“This is absolutely not going to be a simple formality,” the Spanish coach insisted, refusing to accept that PSG are necessarily overwhelming favorites to lift the trophy at MetLife Stadium despite their fearsome form.
“I have analyzed Chelsea. They have a great squad. Enzo Maresca is doing a great job and I really like what he is doing,” Enrique said. “They are a very complete team.”
PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.
“We want to finish this historic season in the best possible way,” said the former Barcelona coach.
“Now we must open the next chapter, win more major trophies. We want to make more history by winning on Sunday.”
PSG were spellbinding at times in their 4-0 victory against Real Madrid in the semifinals and also put four goals past Atletico Madrid and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami during the
competition.
“But we have to win this game to round things off. However, in a final, there is always a winner and a loser, and that doesn’t mean the loser has necessarily done anything wrong,” Enrique added.
“We will lose again at some point, because that is what happens in top-level football, but I think the path is clear for everyone.”

HIGHLIGHT

PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.

This is the first edition of the 32-team Club World Cup, and whoever wins on Sunday will be world champions for four years, with the next tournament scheduled to take place in 2029.
“We are aware of the importance of this match, that it is a golden opportunity to be in a World Cup final,” said captain Marquinhos.
“This only happens every four years, and we don’t know where we will be in four years.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said the scorching heat at the event in the US left him feeling dizzy and described the high temperatures as “dangerous” to play in.
Tuesday’s semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense which took place at 3 p.m. local time in New Jersey saw temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54 percent humidity, prompting a National Weather Service warning.
Soaring temperatures in several cities hosting the contest have been a focal point in the tournament, which is seen as a dry run for next year’s men’s World Cup.
“Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day, I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy,” Fernandez told reporters on Friday.
“Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous. Moreover, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, for the people who watch it at home.
“The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.
“Let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?” the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina added.
Chelsea’s manager has also previously complained about the heat, saying it was “impossible” to organize regular training sessions in the afternoons in Philadelphia.
“Some places have been really hot, the last round was hot and I was stuck watching it and I was thinking: ‘wow, this is so tough.’ I felt bad for them but they managed it really well,” Chelsea center back Levi 
Colwill said.


Vinicius hits winner as Real Madrid eliminate Benfica after racism row

Updated 26 February 2026
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Vinicius hits winner as Real Madrid eliminate Benfica after racism row

  • Benfica gave the record 15-time champions a rough ride but fittingly Vinicius, who never hides from the spotlight, scored on 80 minutes to effectively end the contest

MADRID: Vinicius Junior scored the winner on the night as Real Madrid beat Benfica 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, progressing 3-1 on aggregate to the last 16.
It was the Brazilian forward’s superb goal which separated the teams in a first leg marred by an incident of alleged racial abuse aimed at him by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, who denies it.
Jose Mourinho’s side were still alive in the play-off round tie and took the lead early on at the Santiago Bernabeu through Rafa Silva, although Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni swiftly levelled.
Benfica gave the record 15-time champions a rough ride but fittingly Vinicius, who never hides from the spotlight, scored on 80 minutes to effectively end the contest.
It was Portuguese coach Mourinho’s first time back at the Santiago Bernabeu since he coached Real Madrid from 2010-2013, but he could not lead his team from the dug-out because of suspension.
After a week dominated by the fall-out from the first leg, Vinicius lined up for Real Madrid alongside Gonzalo Garcia, who stepped in for injured French superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Benfica were without banned midfielder Prestianni, after an appeal against his provisional one-game sanction was turned down earlier on Wednesday, with UEFA still investigating the incident.
Madrid hung a large banner reading “no to racism” at one end, with the game played under the shadow of what happened last week in Lisbon.
There were boos for Vinicius from the visiting Benfica fans and he prodded wide in the early stages, appealing in vain for a penalty as Nicolas Otamendi collided with him after he got his shot away.
Benfica took a deserved lead in the 14th minute as Madrid defender Raul Asencio clumsily turned the ball toward his own goal.
Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois kept the ball out but Silva was on hand to bundle home from close range.
Stung into action, Madrid pulled level two minutes later through Tchouameni. The French midfielder finished with aplomb from the edge of the box from rampaging team-mate Federico Valverde’s cross.
Madrid thought they had gone ahead on the night when Arda Guler stabbed home a loose ball after Garcia’s shot was blocked, but the Spanish striker had edged offside and it was disallowed after a VAR review.

Vinicius settles it

Courtois made a fine save from Richard Rios before the break, as Benfica turned up the pressure.
Silva hit the bar with a deflected effort before the hour mark as Mourinho’s side at times pinned back the hosts.
Madrid were dealt a set-back as Asencio was forced off on a stretcher after colliding with Eduardo Camavinga.
It had to be Vinicius who settled the tie, though, and Valverde played him scuttling through on goal, with the Brazilian calmly rolling a low shot past goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
Vinicius produced another celebratory dance by the corner flag, as he had done in the first leg in the run-up to the flashpoint with Prestianni, and to the chagrin of Mourinho.
This time, the 25-year-old just had thousands of jubilant fans jumping up and down before him, and his goal confirmed Madrid’s passage to the last 16.