questions in bold, answers in italics

- breaks between journalists

Reactions

Joao Pedro

Joao, an important win. Through to the final of the Club World Cup. You must be happy with that one.

Yeah, very happy. The team controlled the game today. I think we did very well. Now, we need to focus on the final.

Did you expect to have the effect on the game that you did, scoring two goals?

Yeah, of - not two goals, but of course to help the team. I know I could score today. That's what I did (laughs).

Can you talk us through that first goal, cause it was quite a finish.

Yeah, I saw the ball come to me and then I just tried to make the control quickly, because I knew the players [were] gonna come fast to me, and I [had] to shoot on target.

And obviously that second goal as well - that was a powerful strike, in off the cross bar.

Yeah, Enzo found me, so I had more time to think what I could do. And I was happy to score.

How much are you enjoying playing with players like Enzo Fernandez, being able to find you?

I think we have a great team, great players. And for me, it's a pleasure to play with them, and I think this season can be a great season for us.

And how excited are you, in only your third game as a Chelsea player, to be playing in a final?

I feel very comfortable here. I think everyone helped me a lot to feel comfortable, to feel at home. So that's my feeling - feel home.

Enzo Maresca

Enzo, through to the Club World Cup final. You must be pleased with that one.

Yeah, pleased. Proud. Very, very happy. At this stage of the season, after a long season, to reach the final - it's something fantastic. It's the first competition, first Club World Cup - we play the final. And we are very proud of that.

What did you make of your team's performance today?

Very good. Very good. We start in one way, then they change a little bit - we adjust immediately. The players, they were - [dealing] with all the condition, weather and different things, in a brilliant way. So we are very happy and - very happy for the players.

I wanted to ask about the conditions. How pleased were you with your team's effort, their mentality, to keep going?

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. For some moment, we were able to maintain high tempo - but was not possible to maintain for all 95 minutes because of weather. But they deal in a fantastic way.

How pleased were you with Joao Pedro's performance and his contribution, and how quickly he's adjusted to life at Chelsea?

Yeah, we knew that against low block, Joao is going to help us, because he has quality in the last third against teams that they defend deep, and he show today how good he is - but is just the beginning.

And it's another final as well. That's two back-to-back. You must be very pleased with that.

Yeah, yeah - top four in the Premier League, Conference League final, here another final. I think we are finishing a very good season.

Press Conference: Enzo Maresca

[Some of the questions and answers were in Spanish, and there was live translation during the presser. Just a heads up that the translation is not great and didn't make a lot of sense at times, so I tried to make it make sense where possible]

How much of an achievement is it for you and your players to reach this final considering the caliber of the competition? Is it even maybe a little bit of a surprise that Chelsea's reached the final?

We are very happy. We are very proud to play the final on Sunday. The reason why is this is the Club World Cup, first edition. Best clubs in the world they are here. So for us to be there on Sunday is something that we have to be proud. So very happy about that.

-

A word on Joao Pedro - a fantastic first start for Chelsea. When did he learn he was starting in the game, and how impressed are you with how quickly he's settled in?

Very happy for Joao. We know that Joao is a very good player against teams that they defend deep, because he has quality to decide, like today. I think another thing that's important about Joao is that he was on holiday. So probably he's a bit more fresh compared to the rest. So it's something that probably also is important, to be aware of that. So happy for Joao, yeah.

-

Congratulations on the win. I just wanted to check on Moises Caicedo - he obviously picked up an injury, went late on, came back on. What is the injury, how serious is it? And then also, obviously Dario Essugo was signed this summer. I was wondering how long it might be before he can start challenging for his position?

Yeah, Dario had a muscle problem yesterday during the session. Probably he's going to be ready for next season. And yeah, Moi - he twist his ankle. When happened, I told him - because there were just two, three minutes to go - I told him that we could play with 10 players. The important thing that was not getting worse, because we have a game on Sunday. But he felt that he could try - but he try, and he felt pain. So hopefully he can be fit on Sunday, we'll see.

-

[Question in Spanish, translated] First of all, congratulations. I feel that the team has been growing over this season in champions and reaching the end now in this tournament, have you tweaked what you had in mind of what [inaudible] was about? It kind of breaks the mold, right? That they have to acclimate, first of all, and then they are able to score the goals.

[Answer in Spanish, translated] I think the more matches we play together, the better we will be. And we, of course, are concluding on a high note, and we have played several matches together. Joao, we have brought him on board because we know that with a team that they defend very low on the ball, and he has that skill level. He showed it during the last game during Palmeiras and I think he actually showed it during this match.

-

[Question in Spanish, translated] Chelsea is at the Club World Cup final. Do you think that they are going back to the place that historically it's always deserved? It wasn't always at the top of the league during champions.

[Answer in Spanish, translated] Well over the last few years, what I would say have not really been what the club deserves. Luckily, I think that we have been doing quite well. Premier League and also the Conference League, we were able to win it, and now we are here with this amazing level. We are just so proud to be back where the club deserves to be.

-

You've used 27 players across this tournament. How much has this whole competition been about the squad as much as anything?

When you play every three days, in this competition you need a big squad. You need all the players. But also, they have to be ready, and they show that they are a good player, but also we can count on them, how professional they are, and this is for sure something that we need also for the future.

-

Obviously Christopher Nkunku didn't play much for you last season, but he's just had three starts now at this competition, sort of seems to be playing a different role today. Is he finding a new momentum, new place in the team? There's been a lot of speculation about him potentially leaving this summer.

We try to give them the chance when they deserve. In this moment, if Christo is playing, it's because he deserves to play, and again, I think today he was good. He had some moment that he could score. He had some moment that he had some chance. But overall, I think he had a good game.

-

Chelsea have made a hell of a lot of money from just getting to the final of this tournament. I think it's like 80 million quid, around about that.

Not me. Chelsea (laughs).

Well, I was gonna say, does it make any difference for you, transfer-wise? Do you get a cheeky bonus? Any difference?

No. Personally, I don't - I mean, I'm happy for the club, but I don't care because when I prepare games, I don't prepare the game thinking if we win, we have more money. Because it's something for the club, it's not for us, unfortunately. We have already clear idea about what this squad need to improve for next season, and hopefully can happen.

-

[Question in Spanish, translated] I would like to ask you once again for Nkunku. He's played on the right and he would be playing on the left previously? Now why did you set him at this position and why were you seeking that here today?

[Answer in Spanish, translated] Well the first part - he's played on the right, but he did not play on the sidelines, more towards to the right in midfield. We also had Fernandez and Palmer as well. He is of a high caliber, and he is a footballer that needs a vast amount of space instead of just a small part of the field. He is of a high caliber, and he is helping us.

-

[Question in Spanish, translated] Tomorrow we're going to be playing the other semi-final. Then you're going to have your opponent and the two teams have very different features. One is solid, sound, where they have won every single game, and the other is just taking off with a brand new head coach and it's building itself. Do you think this could have any type of repercussion in terms of the opponent that you might end up playing with?

[Answer in Spanish, translated] Well, I think that there will be - both opponents are awesome. It's amazing to see them play, though Xabi just started, but it's crystal clear what he's seeking. And then a team just won the Champion's League and the other won it the year before. So both of the opponents - regardless, I think they are on equal footing. It doesn't matter which one we're going to be having as our opponent in the final.

-

You've made some transfer this time around. Looking at your squad, how ready are you ahead of next season, and are you done with your transfer business?

I think in this moment, it's not important to talk a lot about the squad. It's important to talk about this competition - where we are. Again, we achieve the final today, we are very happy, and we're gonna try to prepare our best to win this competition. And then we're gonna start to think about next season.

-

[Question in Spanish, translated] At the end of the day, this is the very first version of the Club World Cup. Now, this is both European teams. What do you feel in terms of how you are just overtaking the world? What is your take on this?

[Answer in Spanish, translated] Well, I don't necessarily think - the South American teams have also shown that they are highly competitive. Yesterday I talked to one of my colleagues in terms of how many matches we had played and how many matches they had also played, and I still think the same thing. Fluminense played on December 8 in Brazil, and on the second one on the 12th - from December 8 until 12 of January they have vacation time - holiday for us. Our players [prior vacation] was in June of 2024, Brazilian footballers had vacation about five or six months ago, less than us. So I was talking to one of my Brazilian colleagues - that's just what it is, it is what it is. Our footballers had vacation in June of 2024, the South American footballers had vacations, Fluminense played on December 8 and January 12. So I feel that the levels are close to each other with more energy and I think we are going to be able to compete.

-

A lot was made beforehand about the hot weather and the conditions. Can you give us an idea of how it was for the players and for you pitch-side?

Yeah, it was very very difficult conditions, but we tried to deal with that. I just said in Spanish that - I tried to say something yesterday, the difference between European team and South American team. Fluminense played December 8 and then January 12. From December 8 to January 12, it's one month holiday for Brazilian player. Our player, they had one month holiday June 2024. So if you can see this, okay. If you don't want to see - but there is difference of energy between club, Brazilian team and European team. It's because they had one month holiday six months ago, and our players they had one month holiday twelve, thirteen months ago. It's a huge difference. So the weather conditions, plus the difference of calendar, for me make that all the teams they are very close.

-

In the week you've had Joao Pedro, have you had a chance to learn anything about him as a person, not just a player? And what did it say to you, him having the poise not to celebrate against his former club?

We knew how good Joao is in terms of player. The reason why we brought him is because this season we face many team with low block and his quality is very good against this kind of team. And then as a player, as a person - first of all, he is from Brazil, and so most of the Brazilian players, they are very happy, they enjoy with football. And also, he work with a friend of mine at Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi. So I spoke with Roberto time ago, and he's exactly in the way he showed today. Doesn't mean that he's going to be all season like this, because it's not going to happen. But it's good to have him and also as an option.