Romelu Lukaku was back among the goals in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Al Hilal. The Blues reigned supreme in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final, despite struggling to cope with their opponents for large parts of the second half.
Chelsea are a step away from righting the wrongs of 2012. Nine years after losing the FIFA Club World Cup against Corinthians – by a Paolo Guerrero goal to nil – the Blues are back in the Final and will face another Brazilian side in Palmeiras. Lukaku scored the only goal as Thomas Tuchel’s men beat Al Hilal in the semi-final, although things could’ve been much worse for the Premier League outfit if not for Kepa Arrizabalaga’s second-half heroics.
Entering the competition as the champions of Europe, Chelsea created plenty of opportunities in the first half. Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech tested their luck from distance during the opening minutes of the game but failed to trouble goalkeeper Abdullah Al–Mayouf. Their attempts to get Lukaku more involved as the half progressed, however, hit stumbling blocks.
The Belgian wasted a glorious opportunity to put his side in front in the eighteenth minute when he failed to connect with a Cesar Azpilicueta cross from close range. Shortly after, the forward used his physique to shield a pass into his feet from Mateo Kovacic before turning and shooting straight at the goalkeeper.
Lukaku did score in the 32nd minute. Kai Havertz, starting in place of Mason Mount, drove to the byline, cut back onto his right, and hung the ball towards Lukaku. Havertz’s pass was beyond the Belgian but was kindly redirected into his path by Al Hilal defender Yasser Al-Shahrani, and he smashed it into the roof of the net from close range.
Havertz nearly doubled Chelsea’s lead in the opening minutes of the second half; the German drove to the byline again but, instead of crossing it to his teammates, went for the goal himself and hit the post.
Al Hilal grew into the game and forced Arrizabalaga into making two good saves. The Spaniard closed down Moussa Marega quickly and denied him the opportunity to squeeze the ball past him in the 63rd minute. Minutes later, he flung himself to his left, saving superbly a shot from Mohamed Kanno – who had already begun wheeling away into celebration, anticipating the net to bulge.
Despite the second-half scares, the Blues held onto their narrow lead and will now get a chance to correct their previous failure on Saturday, February 12.
