Chelsea assistant manager Zsolt Low praised his side for their determination in reaching the Fifa Club World Cup final, but conceded the European champions felt significant pressure during their victory against Al Hilal in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night.
The Premier League side were not at their best at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, and had to rely on Romelu Lukaku’s first-half goal to seal an unconvincing 1-0 win and book a spot in Saturday’s showpiece. There, Chelsea face Brazil’s Palmeiras, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions.
Speaking to the media in manager Thomas Tuchel’s absence – the German tested positive last week for Covid-19 and did not travel to Abu Dhabi – Low said: “We worked very hard. We missed a bit of freedom and rhythm.
“We started a little nervous. It was not easy. We fought hard to find a solution. My opinion is the solution was there, but we didn’t find it easily. But we fought hard to get the result and reach the final.
“This competition is very important for the club. The players felt the pressure and that’s why we failed to find the easy solution and score goals. The players did well. We didn’t concede and had a lot of opportunities to score a second.”
Low said he hopes Lukaku’s goal will mark a turnaround in fortunes for the Belgian. The striker, who pounced upon a mix-up in the Hilal penalty area to ultimately send Chelsea through, had not scored in his previous five matches for the club. It was Lukaku’s ninth goal since his $129 million move from Inter Milan last summer.
“Everyone’s very happy he scored - he fought very hard and tried hard in the game,” Low said. “That’s why we give him the chance all the time. We hoped for a bit of luck to score today.
Al Hilal v Chelsea player ratings
“He’s very happy, we’re very happy, and [we] hope he continues and scores in the final.”
On the possibility of Tuchel joining up with the squad in Abu Dhabi before Saturday's decider, Low said: “We hope Thomas can travel as soon as possible. As I said before, he’ll follow the government rules. He’s in self-isolation now and doing a Covid PCR test every day.
“Once he tests negative it opens the possibility to travel. Every day we wait for it. We wish he can come to the enjoy the final.
“We talked to Thomas at half-time and had a good conversation. He had the same feeling that we were a little nervous and had a lot of easy ball losses. We talked about telling the guys to calm down, find the rhythm and not fight so hard for solutions."
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Barbie
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
