Chelsea stun PSG to become Club World Cup champions; Women's Euros head to star-studded knockout stages

Elsewhere on the Golazo Starting XI newsletter, Liverpool pay tribute to Diogo Jota and more

Welcome to the start of a new week and the official end of the 2024-25 men's football season. Yes with the Club World Cup reaching its conclusion, it's the first of four where Chelsea can call themselves world champions. Meanwhile the battle to be the best in Europe is heating up in Switzerland, where the last 16 of the Women's Euros are all set. I'm James Benge, let's get into it!

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, July 14
🌍 Women's AFCON: South Africa vs. Mali, 3 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports
🇧🇷 Brasileirao: Juventude vs. Sport Recife, 7 p.m. ➡️ Fanatiz USA

Tuesday, July 15
🌎 Friendly: Sydney FC vs. Wrexham, 5:30 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network, Paramount+
🌎 Friendly: Chicago Red Stars vs. Palmeiras, 6 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

⚽ The Forward Line

🏆 Chelsea: champions of the world

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Well that was the sort of finale Gianni Infantino must have been dreaming of as he pushed his rebranded Club World Cup on an initially skeptical footballing world. Two of the biggest names in the sport at a sold out MetLife Stadium and a clash filled with drama and surprise, delivering the sort of shock result that would bring back pages and excitement in the home of the biggest league in the sport.

Few but the most madly optimistic of Chelsea fans could have believed they had much of a chance against European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday night. After all, Luis Enrique's side had breezed to the Champions League final by blitzing the finest the Premier League had to offer, preying on heavy legs with an intensity to their press that no one else could match. And yet, a season that might have ended in the most glorious fashion for the champions of France and Europe saw Chelsea do their trick to them, flying into a 3-0 first half lead that they never looked like losing.

Enzo Maresca spotted the gaps on the left side of the PSG midfield and set about exploiting it with aggression. The Chelsea boss would tell you this was a triumph of execution by his players rather than his gameplan but the Italian certainly deserves his flowers.

• Maresca: "Analyzing it, we saw that there was a lot of space on the left side of it, and that's where we tried to win the game. It went well, but I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes, when the team came out to demonstrate that we were here to try to win, respecting the rival, considering the rival the best team in the world at this time.You can give the players a plan, but in the end it's them who have to execute it, and they did it very well."

No surprises for guessing who was the star man for Chelsea last night. Yet again it was Cole Palmer delivering on the biggest stage, scoring the Blues' first two goals and delivering the assist for Joao Pedro's third. After a relatively down second half of the season -- including some matches in the USA -- this was a reminder that what Palmer is at his very best is nothing less than one of the best attacking players in the world. At the age of just 23 he already has three goals and three assists in major finals, at least he does if you're inclined to refer to the Conference League in such lofty fashion.

Deployed on the right of the attack rather than the number 10 position that has generally been his own this season, Palmer was aggressive in his passing and never shied from an opening to take a shot. Who knows, a year and a bit from now he might be making MetLife his own again. The question with Chelsea last season was often who they could rely on if Palmer had a quiet one but, watching on in East Rutherford, Pardeep Cattry thinks they have unearthed a running mate for their star creator.

• Cattry: "It comes as little shock that Palmer, the Blues' brightest star, would deliver in moments like this one... The surprise, though, was that Joao Pedro also felt like a natural fit on the field alongside Palmer. Less than two weeks ago, Joao Pedro was still on Brighton and Hove Albion's books but now has three goals in three games for Chelsea, earning a start in the final over Liam Delap, who had been the go-to earlier in the competition."

What next for the world champions? Their financial outlook is certainly rosier, the Blues having earned $114.6 million in prize money, pre-tax at least. This sojourn to the USA will also have done wonders for Maresca, who can argue he has reached or exceeded expectations in the three most significant competitions he has led Chelsea in.

Will there be a downside risk for Maresca though? Much will depend on how clear-eyed ownership are about who this team were last season (probably the third or fourth best team in England). It is fair to expect development from this young squad over the coming season but even that has to be offset by the fact that their 2025-26 Premier League season begins in 34 days. Great things will be expected of Chelsea. After all they are champions of the world.

New episode with Thomas Mueller

🔗  Midfield Link Play

🇪🇺 Euros group stage ends with big results

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The quarterfinals are set and if you think what came before in the European Championships was high drama, you ain't sen nothing yet. The big guns have largely made it to the quarterfinals but one curious result on the final weekend of the group stage has brought a quite dramatic imbalance of the bracket.

On one side are holders England, who rallied in impressive fashion after their opening defeat to France. Sarina Wiegman's side were always expected to follow up their heavy win over Netherlands with a similarly emphatic win against tournament debutants Wales, but even so there was something impressive about their 6-1 win in St. Gallen. The introduction of Ella Toone to the starting XI has been a triumph for the Lionesses, moving Lauren James to a wide area where she has been extremely effective. They might have finished second in Group D, but if anything England seem better off than they might have been after that early defeat. Certainly that is Beth Mead's view.

• Mead: "It didn't seem it at the time but [losing to France] was probably the best thing that could have happened to us as a team and it motivated us. We had hard conversations, we figured things out. You don't win or lose a tournament in the first game. Now we are in a position where we are building quite nicely."

That position might be all the better given results the previous day. Sweden stunned Germany in Zurich, coming from behind early on to claim a big 4-1 win against an opponent who spent nearly an hour playing with 10 men. Their reward for topping Group B is a rerun of the 2022 semifinal, one that England won 4-0 in stylish fashion. The Lionesses perhaps aren't the team they were and any opponent with Stina Blackstenius and Fridolina Rolfo needs to be taken seriously but you suspect England would have preferred them to Germany.

Meanwhile the Frauenteam were heavily punished for their defeat, handed a clash with a France side who saw off a spirited Netherlands in style, three goals in rapid succession after the hour mark helping them to a 5-2 win. It won't get any easier for the winner of that quarterfinal, who would then almost certainly face Spain, strong favorites against hosts Switzerland. 

The remaining quarterfinal, whose winner faces England or Sweden, pits Italy against a Norway side replete with attacking talent but who have looked loose at the back. The Norwegians too might look at how the draw has landed and fancy themselves to reach what would be their seventh final. The Euros have not disappointed yet but you suspect the good stuff might be right around the corner.

🔗  Top Stories

📈 How Chelsea won the Club World Cup: A triumph all the more impressive given how they played, this is what Chelsea got right to stun PSG.

😡 Luis Enrique bust up: In the heat of defeat, Luis Enrique seemed to lose his cool. The PSG boss was involved in a bust up with Joao Pedro after the final whistle.

😮 Palace demoted to Conference League: A huge if not surprising blow for Crystal Palace on Friday night when UEFA confirmed they were to be expelled from the Europa League and sent to the Conference League due to breaches of ownership rules. The FA Cup winners will appeal the decision.

❤️ Liverpool pay tribute to Diogo Jota: A tough weekend for Liverpool, who returned to action in a friendly against Preston North End after the death of team mate Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva.

🇺🇸 Adams hails USMNT mentality: Tyler Adams joined the Call It What You Want team to reflect on the US run to the Gold Cup final and saw signs of positive change in the dressing room.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• European Championships
  💰 THE PICK: England and Spain to reach the finals (+210) -- As we laid out above, the draw seems to have broken as favorably for England as they could have hoped for and while it's certainly not a given you'd make them favorites to escape the top half of the bracket. As for Spain, well, they're Spain. Even with the hosts to come in the quarters and France or Germany ahead of them, they're strong favorites.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.

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