Chelsea Deny Ighalo’s Al Hilal Ticket to Play in Final

*Lukaku’s lone strike sets up Blues versus Palmeiras final on Saturday

Odion Ighalo and his Saudi Arabian Al Hilal were denied a place in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup yesterday by Romelu Lukaku’s first half goal that set up the clash between Chelsea and Brazilian Palmeiras on Saturday.

Chelsea edged past Al-Hilal with that 1-0 victory at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Blues will now look to lift the only trophy that has evaded them across Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership of the club.

Boss Thomas Tuchel missed the game as he was isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.

Chelsea dominated from the start against the Saudi Arabian side, and their breakthrough came from Lukaku just after the half-hour mark.

Kai Havertz’s left-wing cross was inadvertently headed into the Belgian’s path by Yasser Al Shahrani, and he rifled home from point-blank range.

It was Lukaku’s ninth goal of the season and ended a six-game draught, after he missed a couple of opportunities earlier in the match.

Two minutes after the break, Havertz burst through on goal and clipped the post from a tight angle, despite having Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech for support in the area.

Asian Champions Al-Hilal barely threatened until Mohamed Kanno shot over from distance after combining well with former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Matheus Pereira.

Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga then denied Moussa Marega from eight yards out, while Odion Ighalo and Kanno saw shorts blocked as Chelsea struggled to put the game to bed.

But the European Champions held on in the end and on Saturday will have the chance to avenge defeat in this competition a decade after their last appearance.