Chelsea out of excuses for Club World Cup final with Reece James and Ben Chilwell issue clear

There was little in the way of celebration from Chelsea's players after the final whistle was blown against Al Hilal. Romelu Lukaku, the match-winner, was hunched over. Mateo Kovacic too. The rest simply went through the usual post-match routine. There was little indication the Blues had reached yet another final.

Perhaps that was because Chelsea had been pushed very hard by Al Hilal during the Club World Cup semi-final. The CAF Champions League winners certainly made it difficult for Thomas Tuchel's side. They couldn't simply go through the motions.

Lukaku's 32nd-minute goal proved enough for the Blues to progress to Saturday's final against Palmeiras. Win that and Chelsea will have claimed every trophy possible since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

"I think that we are well prepared for this tournament and final," assistant coach Zsolt Low, who stood in for the absent Thomas Tuchel, said after last night's game. "The most important thing is we play a little bit freer in the final with a better rhythm.

"The game today, it was good to play for the first time in this stadium, to acclimatise to it. We know they (Palmeiras) are a very big club in Brazil. They have a lot of good players. In the coming days, we'll watch the videos and analyse their games. We'll be well prepared."

As Low admitted, Chelsea will need to produce a far more polished performance to overcome Palmeiras, who won the Copa Libertadores in November. The sluggishness and indecisiveness that permeated their semi-final victory must be eradicated. There must be greater energy shown in and out of possession.

The problem is this has been the case for around eight weeks. In December, Chelsea's lacklustre displays were put down to injury and