Chelsea came into this Club World Cup with quite a different situation to most other teams, and it’s paying off.
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Chelsea carry season’s momentum into Club World Cup performances
Many teams had finished their seasons weeks before, and certainly had at least long passed the peak in terms of intensity and importance.
Chelsea on the other hand peaked right at the end – their final Premier League games were all must-wins, and they had a Conference League final too. They rolled all that momentum directly into this tournament, while some of the other teams have been trying to go back up a gear.
That momentum has been essential in some of the harder games, and full back Malo Gusto spoke a little this week about how it could affect their chance of winning the whole thing.
Gusto on Chelsea’s “mental strength”
“During this competition, our mental strength has been the most important thing,” Gusto explained.
“That’s why we are in the semi-final, because we’ve shown that on the pitch during all the games that we have had. We know the weather is tough, the pitch too, and all the teams are very good. There are many things are around the game and we have to deal with it.
“That’s why this competition is so hard to play and that’s why we are so happy to get this far. I think if we can overcome these hurdles we can do anything and that’s why we must believe in ourselves, give our best and see what goes after. We have a chance of the trophy and that’s what we must try to do.”
Fluminense certainly bring a different type of test, but we’re confident we can beat them too.
