Sat Jul 05 03:32:30 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the text you provided:

**Chelsea Advance to Club World Cup Semifinals After Late Own Goal Drama Against Palmeiras**

**Philadelphia, PA** – Chelsea secured a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Friday. A late own goal, credited to Palmeiras defender Agustin Giay, proved to be the decider in a tightly contested match.

Chelsea took the lead in the 16th minute through Cole Palmer, who silenced critics with a well-taken left-footed strike. Palmer, who has faced criticism for his goalscoring record despite leading the team in shots, received a pass from Trevoh Chalobah, dribbling past defenders before finishing powerfully from outside the box. “I’ve been working on the shot in training. I just saw the space and went there,” Palmer told DAZN after the match.

Palmeiras, however, fought back and equalized in the 53rd minute through Estevao, a player ironically set to join Chelsea after the tournament concludes. Estevao, who agreed to a move to Chelsea in May 2024, unleashed a stunning, tight-angled shot that left Chelsea fans with mixed emotions. The deal would be delayed by his young age which requires the player to reach 18 to come to England.

The game remained level until the dying moments when a shot by Chelsea’s Malo Gusto from the right side deflected off Palmeiras’ Richard Rios and Giay, with goalkeeper Weverton unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

Adding to the Chelsea news, Joao Pedro made his debut for the Blues, entering the match in the 54th minute, just two days after his transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion was finalized.

Chelsea will now face Fluminense in the semifinals on Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fluminense defeated Al Hilal 2-1 earlier on Friday.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca expressed his delight after the game. “It has been a tough game, as we expected. We needed lots of energy. At the end, congratulations to the players because they were very good. I’m happy because we won, and also happy because Estevao scored. The perfect night.”

When asked about soon-to-be teammate Estevao, Palmer said “You can see he [Estevao] is a top player, so we are excited for him [to join Chelsea after the tournament].”

The other quarterfinals matchups see Real Madrid face Borussia Dortmund, while Paris-Saint Germain take on Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Read More