Chelsea secured their spot in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup following a 2-0 win over Fluminense on Tuesday evening.
Blues coach Enzo Maresca gave Joao Pedro his first start ahead of Liam Delap, while Hercules came in as the sole change for Fluminense from their win over Al-Hilal.
New boy Pedro got things going in the opening quarter when he dropped a shoulder on the edge of the area and curled into the top-corner.
Pedro looked to haunt his former employers soon after with a diving header from the back-post, but veteran shot-stopper Fabio was equal to the effort.
Fluminense almost levelled around the half-hour mark as German Cano and Jhon Arias combined to release the latter in on goal, but Marc Cucurella cleared off the line.
The Blues’ advantage came under threat later on when Trevor Chalobah conceded a penalty for a hand-ball, but it was overturned after consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Chelsea came out for the second half looking to extend the lead as Cucurella took aim from range and drilled inches wide of the bottom-corner.
Pedro turned up again ten minutes into the second half when he pulled wide to the six-yard area to meet a pass from Enzo Fernandez and rifled in off the underside of the woodwork.
The Brazilian outfit were on the back-foot again and almost conceded a third goal minutes later through a low curling shot from Christopher Nkunku, but it was cleared off the line.
Given the ascendancy, the Blues made a double change midway through the second period by bringing on Reece James for Malo Gusto and Noni Madueke ahead of Pedro Neto.
There were chances at either side of the pitch as full-time loomed large, but the Blues maintained their lead to book a spot in the final on Sunday.
Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
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