Chelsea have progressed to the final of the Club World Cup without much trouble at all, comfortably coasting past Monterrey with a 3-0 victory. Without star striker Humberto Suazo, the Rayados lacked a cutting edge going forward and were outclassed for the entirety of the game.
Chelsea vs. Monterrey, 2012 Club World Cup: Final score 3-1, Blues coast into final
Thanks to some great creative play and some lucky deflections, Chelsea are through to the final of the Club World Cup.
Paul Thomas
Juan Mata got his side off to an excellent start with a 17th minute goal, scored at the end of an impressive team move. Oscar found Ashley Cole with a sublime backheel to set up a cross for Chelsea's left back, which found the feet of Mata. He took one touch to set himself up before placing a great shot into the lower corner from the center of the box.
The Blues were well on top for the rest of the first half, but couldn’t add to their lead. Monterrey looked like they were in with a chance heading into the locker room, but those chances completely vanished less than a minute into the first half.
Fernando Torres scored Chelsea's second, though the ball only found the back of the net due to a wicked deflection. He hit a shot that was headed wide of the near post before it struck a Monterrey defender and redirected into the goal. Two minutes later, Chelsea scored a third and sealed the win, with Darvin Chavez accidentally directing a Juan Mata cross past his keeper for an own goal.
Monterrey nabbed a consolation goal in stoppage time, through Aldo de Nigris. Chelsea move on to face Corinthians in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
