Romelu Lukaku’s first-half strike was enough to send Chelsea through to the Club World Cup final as they held on to beat Al Hilal 1-0 in Abu Dhabi.
Lukaku (32) put Chelsea in front at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Wednesday’s semi-final with a close-range effort after Kai Havertz’s cross bounced off a defender, falling nicely for the Belgium striker to end a run of five matches without a goal.
Chelsea will now play Brazilian side Palmeiras in the final on Saturday.
“Everyone’s very happy Lukaku scored, he fought very hard and tried hard in the game,” said Chelsea assistant Zsolt Low, standing in for Thomas Tuchel who was absent with Covid.
“That’s why we give him the chance all the time. We hoped for a bit of luck to score today. He’s very happy, we’re very happy and hope he continues and scores in the final.”
Saudi
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