Reece James admitted he was baffled by Donald Trump’s presence on the stage as Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup.
The Blues had been surprisingly dominant winners in opposition to Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey, successful 3-0 with Cole Palmer netting twice and offering the help for Joao Pedro to get on the scoresheet.
James was handed the trophy by Trump however, somewhat than make the customary swift exit, the American president loitered because the trophy was raised earlier than being smuggled apart by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.
THEY DID IT! 💙@ChelseaFC carry the FIFA Club World Cup!
CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD 🏆
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Trump didn’t get the memo!
England worldwide James mentioned: “They instructed me that he was going to current the trophy after which exit the stage, and I assumed that he was going to exit the stage, however he needed to remain.”
Palmer, who claimed the person of the match award from Trump, added: “I knew he was going to be right here however I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand after we lifted the trophy. I used to be a bit confused, yeah.”
It was a weird finish to what was a incredible evening for Chelsea, as they despatched out a warning to the remainder of the Premier League that their expensively assembled squad is constant to develop at a fast price.
James mentioned: “We’re shifting in the correct route, successful this trophy in opposition to such good opposition sends an enormous assertion.
“I’m proud of how the membership has progressed. Next season I hope the membership is competing within the Premier League and to win the title, and competing to go far within the Champions League as effectively.”
Maresca will get higher of Luis Enrique
The triumph capped a formidable first season at Chelsea for boss Enzo Maresca with the Conference League trophy additionally tucked away within the cupboard.
And his tactical nous in enabling Palmer to play with extra freedom proved a masterstroke.
Ctrl+C ➡️ Ctrl+V on the 2 first @chelseaFC objectives…
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The Italian mentioned: “Today we discovered a place for him the place there was more room to assault.
“Obviously Cole performed very well however the effort from all of the gamers was incredible.
“The concept was go man-to-man as a result of if you happen to depart areas to PSG they are going to kill you, so we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on and that depth was essential within the first 10 minutes as a result of scorching warmth, that was actually tough circumstances to play as the sport progresses.”