Since Palmeiras started preparing for the Club World Cup, there’s been big attention from the Brazilian media on how Chelsea have been doing this season.
Local reports have many times been saying the Blues are far from their best form, and that’s great news for the Verdão, who could win the tournament for the first time.
Now as Palmeiras beat Al-Ahly 2-0, they’ve qualified for the final. And even though Chelsea still have to get past Al-Hilal on Wednesday, there’s a big expectation the final will be against the Stamford Bridge side.
So we now get to see several pieces predicting the match. One of them comes from UOL columnist Menon, who says Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel ‘need to worry’ about the Brazilian club.
The journalist points out how good Palmeiras have been, claiming the Blues “will face a team that knows how to defend itself, knows how to fight, knows how to be supportive and knows how to play a lot of ball.”
As Palmeiras’ excellent goalkeeper Weverton made a mistake in the game, the journalist claims it will be of no use for Chelsea to trust he’d do that again.
“Chelsea’s coaching staff saw Palmeiras’ game. And, if they decide to shoot from outside the box because of Weverton’s mistake in the disallowed goal, they will fall off their horse,” he writes.
As pointed out by Menon, Chelsea undoubtedly have a stronger squad, but would need to play quite seriously leave Abu Dhabi with the title.
The Blues played Palmeiras’ rivals Corinthians back in 2012, and on that occasion, the Brazilian side won the trophy following a 1-0 win.
