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
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AL HILAL RATINGS: Abdullah Al Mayouf – 7. Well positioned to keep out a shot from Lukuku in the first half, and had to be at full stretch to keep out Ziyech later on. PA -
Yasir Al Shahrani – 7. Failed to deal with Havertz’s cross, which presented the opener to Lukaku, but he did not shirk the challenge at any stage. Linked up excellently with Al Dawsari at times. Getty -
Jang Hyun-soo – 6. His indecisiveness early on put his side under pressure a number of times. Settled better thereafter, and might have scored at a corner, but his header went wide. EPA -
Mohammed Al Breik – 7. Showed great poise to evade the Chelsea press early on. It should have settled his side’s nerves, if there were any. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Ali Al Bulaihi – 7. Marking Romelu Lukaku is no easy task, but he coped admirably. Was growing terse by the end, though, and he was booked after a skirmish with Mount. PA -
Gustavo Cuellar – 6. Wasteful when Hilal had a chance on the break, as he failed to pick a pass. Booked for a necessary foul on Havertz. Had his work cut out against Kovacic, Jorginho and Kante. AP -
Moussa Marega – 6. Failed to get the ball under control twice when Hilal were in promising positions early on. Shot at Arrizabalaga when clean through. AP -
Mohammed Kanno – 8. Important at defensive set pieces, and made brave blocks from Ziyech and Mount. Hit a shot from range just over as Hilal threatened a fightback. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Matheus Pereira – 6. His sloppiness in possession in his own half twice put Hilal under pressure. Showed some quality when he slipped Marega through for Hilal’s first clear opening, and was brighter from then on. Getty -
Salem Al Dawsari – 6. Fired a shot from the edge over the bar after a neat interchange with Al Shahrani. Shone at times, but did not see the ball as often as his side would have liked. AP -
Odion Ighalo – 4. Hilal needed more from their new signing. Too often the Nigerian striker was static, and he was lucky not to be withdrawn when Leonardo Jardim made attacking changes with 10 minutes to go. Getty -
SUBS: Andre Carrillo – N/A. Beat a hasty retreat down the tunnel at full time. Appeared frustrated not to have been given enough time to make an impact. EPA. Michael – N/A. -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 8. Brilliant saves to keep out Marega from close range and Kanno from distance. Impressive sharpness given he was not much troubled otherwise. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Thiago Silva – 7. Might as well have been playing in a dinner jacket. The Brazilian centre back is all class. PA -
Antonio Rudiger – 8. Former Porto forward Marega was one of the few Hilal players Chelsea had an in-depth knowledge on before the game. Rudiger had him in his pocket throughout. AP -
Andreas Christensen – 6. A quiet night until right at the end, when he somehow managed to avoid a booking for a WWE-style takedown on Ighalo. AFP -
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6. Al Dawsari and Al Sharani linked up well down Hilal’s left, and Chelsea’s captain was caught out on occasion. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Marcos Alonso – 5. Upended Marega early on. Later had the same treatment meted out to him by Kanno. Did little of note before making way for Sarr. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Mateo Kovacic – 7. Lucky not be censured for a clip on Ighalo’s heels which left the striker in a heap. Later booked for a foul on Al Dawsari. Good in possession, but still a surprising choice as man of the match. Getty -
Jorginho – 6. Barely needed to break sweat in the 45 minutes he was on for. Replaced by Kante at the interval. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku – 6. Maybe he was saving up his energy for the final. He really did not get through much work. Earned his money with the decisive goal, though. PA -
Hakim Ziyech – 7. Surprising he did not score given the number of shots he rained in. Twice it was down to good goalkeeping. Taken off just as he was starting a fight. Getty -
Kai Havertz – 8. Played the cross from which Lukaku eventually struck the opener. Struck a post after a fine run. The brightest of Chelsea’s attackers. PA -
SUBS: Ngolo Kante – 7. On for Jorginho at the interval, and was his usual ubiquitous self as he dominated midfield. Reuters -
Mason Mount – N/A. On for Ziyech late on, the biggest impression he made was by riling most of the Hilal backline. AFP -
Malang Sarr – N/A. Little to do after his late introduction for Alonso, but still enamoured himself to his side’s fans after successfully retrieving an apparently lost ball on the left flank. Reuters
“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."
