Maresca Claims Club World Cup Could Surpass Champions League in Importance

Enzo Maresca believes the FIFA Club World Cup could soon be as important as the UEFA Champions League. The Chelsea manager made this claim after his team’s 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the new-look tournament final.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FINAL?

Chelsea dominated the first edition of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup, beating Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final. Cole Palmer scored twice and assisted Joao Pedro, who added the third goal before half-time. PSG, reduced to 10 men with Joao Neves’ second-half red card, struggled to make a comeback. Chelsea became the first English club and only the fourth team to win multiple Club World Cup titles, joining Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

A previous report confirmed that Chelsea reached the FIFA Club World Cup final after a 2-0 win over Fluminense.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MARESCA’S STATEMENT

Maresca told his players after the final that the Club World Cup will soon become “as important, or even more important, than the Champions League”. Maresca pointed out that the Club World Cup now brings together the champions of every continent, while the Champions League only involves European clubs. The Italian, crowned Europe’s best with Chelsea last season, feels the Club World Cup’s status will keep on rising as time goes on.

A previous report confirmed that Chelsea have improved considerably since Enzo Maresca took over as manager.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CHELSEA AND THE CLUB WORLD CUP?

Chelsea’s victory means they have now won six straight major European or international finals. Their next challenge is returning to Premier League play against Crystal Palace for the league opener. Paris Saint-Germain also need to bounce back quickly. They open the Ligue 1 against Nantes on 17th of August, and before that will play another English team, Tottenham, for the European Supercup, who won the Europa League.

A previous report confirmed that Chelsea finished fourth in the Premier League last season, guaranteeing Champions League qualification.