Cole Palmer was recognised as the outstanding performer of the Club World Cup final by French outlet L’Equipe.
But Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was an unlikely recipient of praise following his heroics in the surprise 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Blues boss Enzo Maresca masterminded a shock victory over the European champions on Sunday night and was equally as thankful for the contributions of two-goal Palmer as Sanchez, who produced a string of stunning saves.
The notoriously harsh markers handed Palmer a 9/10 for his match-winning display, while fellow goalscorer Joao Pedro received a 7/10 after another impressive outing for his new club.
The much maligned Sanchez, whose position as Chelsea’s No 1 has been under threat ever since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2023, was awarded an 8/10 after making six saves and, according to the stats boffins, preventing 1.35 goals.
Only Palmer bettered the grade, while right back Malo Gusto also received an 8/10 for his impressive martialling of PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Evidence of L’Equipe critical eye comes in their appraisal of the Parisians who endured an uncharacteristically off night which brought a sour end to a historic campaign.
Kvaratskhelia was one of five Paris players to be handed a 2/10 after an anonymous performance in which he managed just one shot, one successful dribble and won just two of his seven duels.
Ousmane Dembele, Nuno Mendes, Lucas Beraldo and Joao Neves – who was sent off in the 85th minute for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair – were the other stars on the end of a hiding from the outlet.
L’Equipe’s average rating for the PSG squad was a measly 2.9/10, marginally lower than the grade for the boss Luis Enrique, whose frustration spilled over at the end of the match at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
The Spaniard appeared to strike Chelsea striker Pedro in the face during a heated post-match clash between both teams. Pedro was initially embroiled in a confrontation with Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi – with Andrey Santos also on the scene – before Enrique marched over towards the situation.
But rather than defusing the situation, the Spanish manager made it physical, laying his hands on Pedro before being held back by his own player Presnel Kimpembe.
Pedro fell to the floor in dramatic fashion, clutching at his face.
Speaking on the incident, Enrique said: ‘This was completely avoidable at the end, my goal was always to separate footballers, there was a lot of tension and pressure, there was a whole bunch of pushing that we should all try to avoid. My intention is to avoid it getting worse.’
In victory, the Blues became the fifth club – and the first from England – to win multiple FIFA Club World Cup titles, joining Real Madrid (five), Barcelona (three), Bayern Munich (two), and Corinthians (two).
The architect of the win, Maresca – who received a 9/10 from L’Equipe – said: ‘I have no words for the players. They all deserve this and it’s a good moment.
‘For me, we won the game in the first 10 minutes. We set the tempo and we were very good at pressing them. The conditions made it hard to keep going but the boys did well.
‘Of course I am very excited [about the future] but I’m more excited that we have three weeks off.’
