Zsolt Low points to importance of Club World Cup and hails ‘big leader’ after Chelsea win

Zsolt Low insisted the Club World Cup is “very important” and hailed Chelsea’s “big leader” after they narrowly edged past Al Hilal on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

Romelu Lukaku’s gift-wrapped goal proved enough for Chelsea to overcome a resolute Al Hilal 1-0 and reach the Club World Cup final. Lukaku spurned a clutch of fine openings but could not miss when presented with Yasir Alshahrani’s unwitting deflection just yards from goal.

The 28-year-old lashed home to end a five-match goal drought and book the Blues’ spot in Saturday’s final against Palmeiras.

Chelsea will understandably cite jet lag and their hectic schedule for an off-kilter showing, and boss Thomas Tuchel’s continued absence due to Covid isolation doubtless also carries weight.

Assistants Arno Michels and Low oversaw the win, but they had Kepa Arrizabalaga to thank for the clean sheet. The Spain stopper pulled off two vital, high-class saves in another assured performance at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.

Low said: “We worked very hard. We missed a bit of freedom and rhythm. We started a little nervous, it was not easy.

“But we fought hard for it to find a solution. My opinion is the solution was there but we didn’t find it easily.

“We missed a bit of rhythm in this game 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 Tuchel spoke to the players at half-time.

“First of all 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