Key events
Robert Speed writes: “FIFA used to have a perfectly fine rule on yellow card suspensions at these tournaments, where yellow cards were wiped after the group phase. But then Michael Ballack deservedly missed the 2002 World Cup final for a 2nd yellow in the knockouts, so they ruined the rule and instead wiped yellow cards after the quarterfinals. Now 2 yellow cards in the space of 5 matches, and a player misses a semi-final. The final is not the only important match in the tournament. It really shouldn’t be treated differently, at the expense of ridiculously suspending all these players in earlier matches.”
Sound argument, though I think Delap and Rios should miss the next match just through the sheer idiocy of their actions.
You could call Chelsea a bit lucky on the second goal, with a deflection and an uncharacteristic misplay by goalkeeper Weverton. But this result is no more than Chelsea deserve. Estêvão had his moments, to be sure, but Chelsea outshot Palmeiras 19-7, with a 6-2 edge in shots on target. Palmer was excellent through much of the game, and Chelsea only got better when Madueke entered the fray.
Estêvão takes the Player of the Match award despite being on the losing side, and it’s absolutely a fair choice. Several Chelsea players work their way over to him, and they’re all smiles. They know they’re getting a great new teammate.
Full time: Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea
Nice choice of music in Philadelphia – the Madness instrumental One Step Beyond. Chelsea will indeed take one more step and will face a second consecutive Brazilian side, Fluminense, in the semi-finals.
90 min +4: SAVE OFF THE POST. Terrible giveaway from Palmeiras, and Palmer gratefully heads into the attacking half. It ends up with Madueke, who drills a shot that Weverton does very well to redirect off the post.
And another Chelsea shot with another great save by Weverton. No goal for Chelsea, but they’re making that clock tick.
90 min +3: Palmer is hopping mad, literally, after being whistled for fouling Veiga.
90 min +2: Madueke has been giving the Palmeiras defense fits. He draws a free kick near the center circle.
90 min +1: We’ll have four minutes of added time. Add another 30-60 seconds because Chelsea are making a sub. Anbrey Santos, the last-minute addition to the starting XI, will head out after a strong showing in the Chelsea midfield. Dario Essugo is in.
ESPN’s scores page is giving the own goal to Giay rather than Weverton, which does indeed make more sense.
87 min: Sanchez slaps away a hard Mauricio shot like a volleyball player spiking the ball. It wouldn’t have mattered – the whistle had just gone for a foul.
86 min: I believe this is the last sub window for Palmeiras. Rios, who will miss the semi-final that his team is now unlikely to make, makes way for Raphael Veiga.
Then it’s yellow to Colwill, and he will also miss the semi-final.
Pedro Neto is out, with Kieran Dewsbury-Hall coming in.
85 min: Chelsea are off to the races again, and Fuchs has to make a vital recovery run.
But they overplay their hand, and Paulinho cuts back against Colwill to get space for a shot that trickles past the far post.
Goooooalll! Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea (own goal 83)
Chelsea take a short corner. Gusto tries to whip in a cross, and it takes a slight deflection off Giay and goes through the grasp of the Palmeiras keeper.
The official ruling now is an own goal by Weverton.
82 min: Palmer has the ball in an acre of space and opts to drop the ball back to Fernandez, who drills a shot from the center of the arc that’s deflected for a corner.
80 min: Another solid play from Anbrey Santos for Chelsea, a slide tackle that pops the ball free from an attacker. Palmeiras win back possession and cross, but it goes straight to Sanchez.
79 min: Palmer takes the free kick and drills it straight into Moreno’s face. People in the USA call that “taking one for the team.”
77 min: Cucurella does well to dispossess Estêvão before the Palmeiras goal-scorer can do anything with the ball.
Chelsea go on the attack, and Madueke earns a free kick at the top of the penalty arc, slotting the ball through Micael’s legs and getting knocked down by the defender.
And it’s a yellow for Richard Rios, likely for dissent. He’ll miss the next match. That’s not smart.
Speaking of dissent, Peter Oh wrote again to say he believes, based on lip-reading, that Delap dropped a particular four-letter word in his conversation with the referee. He easily could’ve earned a second yellow.
75 min: More subs for Palmeiras – Anibal Moreno for Martinez, and Jose Lopez for Vitor Roque.
73 min: Madueke goes one-on-one with Fuchs and finally gets some space for a cross, and Fuchs has to stretch out a leg to knock it out for a corner.
Off that corner, the ball lands at Cucurella’s feet, and he kicks what would certainly be three points when this stadium resumes NFL hosting duties.
70 min: Colwill races back to break up a dangerous cross, conceding a corner but squashing a terrific Palmeiras opportunity.
69 min: Palmer plays back to Sanchez, and the Chelsea keeper dawdles too long with the ball and is nearly dispossessed. That’ll make Chelsea supporters’ heart rate shoot upward.
68 min: João Pedro explodes like a Fourth of July firework into a dangerous spot, but his touch is heavy and drifts over the line before he can tap it back toward a teammate.
66 min: The other sub, João Pedro, dribbles across the top of the penalty area and drags a mishit shot wide.
Now Palmeiras will use some subs – Allan and Facundo Torres depart, replaced by Paulinho and Mauricio.
65 min: It’s Madeuke again on the left flank, driving into the penalty area and attempting a through ball that Weverton gathers. Inspired substitution for Chelsea.
63 min: Madueke is proving to be quite the handful for the Palmeiras defense.
But Palmeiras break again, and Allan shoots just wide of the far post.
61 min: Someone asked about Andrey Santos? He just single-handedly broke up a Palmeiras counterattack, so I’d say that’s pretty positive.
Madueke earns another corner. Possession stays with Chelsea, and Colwill knocks a cross of a defender for yet another corner.
60 min: Palmer tries to dribble, which is difficult when the ball is under the prone body of Richard Rios. That’ll be a free kick for Palmeiras.
58 min: The cameras give some love to the joyful Palmeiras supporters, of whom there are a great many. This is practically a home match for the Brazilian side.
55 min: Chelsea figure it’s time for some substitutions, and it’s no surprise that Delap, who has spent more time complaining and fouling than doing anything constructive, is out. So is Nkunku, who has done little but put a shot a mile away from the target.
Now in – Noni Madueke and the new signing, João Pedro.
Madueke immediately earns a corner kick.
Goooooalll!!!! Palmeiras 1-1 Chelsea (Estêvão 53)
Wow!
To say that would be an acute angle would be an understatement. Estêvão turned on Colwill and wound up three yards from the goal line but about three yards outside the 6-yard box. No problem. He simply drills it into the underside of the bar, and it lands nicely in the goal.
50 min: Cucurella should count himself very lucky that he hasn’t become the next name in Faghani’s book. He plows through Allan, knocking the Palmeiras attacker out of his boot. Literally.
And now Chris Colwill is in the referee’s face – or over it, considering Colwill’s height advantage – because he has been asked to kindly stop shoving people as Palmeiras take a set piece.
I’d have given about 20 yellows for dissent by now.
49 min: Clumsy foul from Cucurella, and Palmeiras have a free kick near the sideline. Sanchez snags it out of the air with little fuss.
Rod Boyle writes in regard to the shorts: “Is it not more likely that there is a rule about matching shorts?”
As in having to wear a shorts that aren’t the same color as the opponents’? That would rule out Chelsea wearing white shorts, sure.
They still look gray-ish to me, but I’ve seen some photos in which they have a green tint. This is turning into a “what color is this dress?” thing.
46 min: Free kick for Palmeiras, and Fuchs pops free for an open header, but he did so by leaning his whole body into an offside position, so the point is moot.
Fifa’s stat page says Chelsea have scored one goal (obviously). Inside the penalty area: no goals. Outside the penalty area: no goals. Cole Palmer apparently has departed into another dimension.
Delap returns to the field and resumes his argument with the referee. Embarrassing, frankly. Unless he also has been sent to another dimension and a replicant was the one who committed the foul.
Kickoff …
Mailbag time …
An unidentified person asks: “Talk before the game was that Caicedo’s absence could be a problem for Chelsea, then James was withdrawn. How’s Santos doing? Thanks.”
He hasn’t done anything particularly noteworthy, but Chelsea have done well in possession, and Palmeiras haven’t found any space in the middle of the field, so no news is good news. He’s in a position where he’d be noticed if he did poorly, and that’s not happening.
Usman Moorad: “Can you please help me understand why Chelsea’s shorts are green? I swear their away Jersey on their site has white shirts.”
They look gray-ish to me. But I figure clubs that spend as much as Chelsea will eventually have a shirt and shorts in every conceivable color so they can rack up the sales.
Justin Kavanagh again: “There are fireworks going on everywhere across the city of Philadelphia right now, and there are a fair few bombs bursting in air inside the Linc too! Some of the tackling is positively explosive and the fuse has been lit here for an explosive climax to this one. Should the ref be exerting more control?”
I think this email came in before at least one of the yellow cards. I’ve only seen one or two incidents that may have merited a whistle. On the whole, I think he’s doing well. He had some conversations early in the game, but some players apparently didn’t listen.
Halftime: Palmeiras 0-1 Chelsea
The half ends with Delap barking at Faghani. Maybe we should peek into Chelsea’s options on the bench.
45 min +2: The referee, incidentally, is Alireza Faghani, who’s from Iran but has moved to Australia.
He gives a yellow to Delap, which means he would miss the semi-final. He argues, but maybe he shouldn’t slam into opposing players when the ball is nowhere near. Appalling judgment on the Chelsea man’s part, and not for the first time in this contest.
45 min: Giay and Cucurella battle for the ball, and Giay responds with the lightest of touches to Cucurella’s chest. The Chelsea defender drops like a bowling pin. The referee is not impressed.
44 min: OK, we’ll take away the 10 from Palmer after a petulant foul at midfield. That’s eight fouls for each team, most of them rather silly and unnecessary.
42 min: CHANCE for Palmeiras as a well-placed cross finds the onrushing Vanderlan, whose header slams into the grass and up into Sanchez’s hands. The Brazilian side are creeping back into this contest.
41 min: Yellow to Chelsea defender Gusto, who’s late in a challenge and catches Micael’s leg. No argument there.
