Chelsea are world champions. A club that has won it all. Just let that sink in for a moment.
The Blues' 2-1 victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final last night wasn't pretty, but it was enough to ensure the one piece of silverware missing from the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet was secured.
There is no major title that Chelsea haven't claimed; the club's supporters can thank Roman Abramovich for that near-unrivalled success. Thomas Tuchel too for his shrewd management over the past 13 months. And let's not forget the players.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea's captain, has won everything there is to win with the club. Kai Havertz's extra-time penalty against Palmeiras was his second cup final goal for the Blues. The much-maligned Romelu Lukaku, meanwhile, netted in both the semi-final and the final.
"We don’t play our best football and it’s not our best moment in general," Tuchel accepted after his side's hard-fought win over Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi.
"We struggled a little bit as a team, but as Petr Cech says many times, we managed to find a way to win, to be in the final, to win the final, and for this the players deserve full credit.”
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Chelsea's players celebrated for as long as they could on the pitch and in the dressing room at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium. They then hopped onto the team coach and boarded a plane back to the UK. The grind doesn't stop.
Yet it's hugely important for players and supporters alike to celebrate success, to revel in the adulation, to enjoy the high points of a gruelling season.
And for that reason, we've looked back on last night's game and highlighted a few things you may have missed during the tense 120 minutes and in the jubilant scenes after the full-time whistle was finally blown.
No lucky shoes needed
One of the standout stories of Chelsea's Champions League final win over Manchester City last May was Tuchel's lucky shoes. It's perhaps best we let the Blues head coach explain the backstory.
"I had these shoes in Paris and I made a promise that we will wear these shoes when we reach the Champions League final," Tuchel said on the pitch in Porto.
"They were a present from the president at PSG and I promised my staff I would wear them in the final. I did not wear them, so we lost. I wore them today and they worked."
A small part of Chelsea's post-match celebrations after the Champions League final focused on the shoes. After returning to the dressing room at the Estadio Dragao, Tuchel raised one above his head and the players danced around him. Marcos Alonso then went on to drink champagne from it. Each to their own.
Tuchel brought the shoes back from Porto with him and has them at his home. But would they be given a second outing after the German coach made it out of Covid isolation in time to be on the touchline for the Club World Cup final?
Clearly, Tuchel isn't superstitious as the answer to that question was no; the Chelsea boss was instead sporting sharp pair of black and white trainers as his side clinched victory.
Rudiger on his knees
What else is there left to say about Antonio Rudiger?
The German has blossomed into one of Europe's finest defenders since the arrival of Tuchel and was Chelsea's standout performer against Palmeiras.
Yet Rudiger brings so much more to the team than sheer defensive skill. Tuchel has called the centre-back his "aggressive leader" and Rudiger's eccentric personality is influential within the Chelsea squad.
That was evident throughout yesterday evening, both during the match and after it. For instance, when Havertz stepped up to take Chelsea's crucial penalty in extra time, Rudiger was on his knees and appeared in prayer. He then sprinted off to celebrate with his teammates in the corner after the ball hit the back of the net.
Rudiger then, somehow, managed to pull a plastic chair used by photographers over the advertising board before punching the corner flag as he returned to the pitch.
In the dressing room after the trophy was lifted, meanwhile, Rudiger was front and centre in the celebrations. He is a unique character, a maverick, but somebody Chelsea have to keep beyond the end of his contract, which expires in the summer.
"He delivers at a high level and we have huge respect for him," Tuchel said after the game. "The fans love him and we show our appreciation to put him on the field. He is a leader, a leader of the group since we arrived."
"He is in talks of course. The situation is not new and it doesn’t affect his performance, that is the most important thing for me. The other things are taken care of by the club and Toni’s agents.”
What Kante told Hudson-Odoi
Whisper it quietly but N'Golo Kante wasn't at his absolute best during yesterday's final. The Frenchman still completed 120 minutes, though, and his energy was vital in helping Chelsea get over the line in extra time.
Kante's post-match celebrations weren't quite as exuberant as some of his teammates but he certainly made sure to enjoy the fact he had added the Club World Cup to the World Cup he won with France in 2018.
And that was something he pointed out to teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi in the mixed zone after the game as, before speaking to the press, the midfielder told the Chelsea academy graduate: “Now you can say you’re a world champion too, Callum.”
Lukaku receives Drogba approval
The past few weeks have been difficult for Lukaku. His controversial interview with Sky Italia that was released in December hurt his relationship with Chelsea's supporters and he has struggled for form since the turn of the year.
However, Lukaku stepped up for the Blues at the Club World Cup. Sure, his performances in the semi-final and final were not flawless but he did score the opening goal in both games.
It's in the big matches that big players have to deliver and no matter what fans think of the Belgian, they can't argue Lukaku step up when it mattered at the Club World Cup. And after the final, Lukaku caught up with his childhood idol – and Chelsea legend – Didier Drogba.
The two made sure to grab a picture on the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium pitch and Drogba jokingly wrote on Instagram about Lukaku's second-half header: "You can keep them closed as long as you take us to the top of the world."
Silva's long wait is over
Much was made in the build-up to the final of the importance the Club World Cup has to players and supporters from South America.
That was highlighted by the fact around 15,000 Palmeiras fans travelled to Abu Dhabi for the game against Chelsea. It very much felt like an away fixture for the Blues given the atmosphere created by the fans of the Brazilian club.
Fortunately, Tuchel's side rose to the challenge, although they weren't aided by the penalty conceded by Thiago Silva in the second half.
However, the Brazilian centre-back, who was named the Player of the Tournament, recovered well to get his hands on a trophy he'd long coveted.
“I feel immense happiness,” Thiago Silva told FIFA's website. “I’ve waited 37 years for this moment. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices for this. It’s so, so difficult to become a world champion. I’m really happy. We’re all really happy.
“It was a really difficult game. In finals like this small details make the difference. They got a penalty through handball, we got a penalty through handball. But I think overall we deserved the result, we deserved to leave the pitch as world champions.”
Humble Chilwell gets what he deserves
The last two months haven't been easy for Ben Chilwell. The England international was playing the best football of his career when he suffered an ACL injury against Juventus at the end of November. It is one that is going to keep him out for the rest of the season.
Chilwell has been undergoing his recovery work at Cobham but earlier this week was flown out to Abu Dhabi to join up with the rest of the first-team squad. It was a smart move on Chelsea's part, a way of keeping the 25-year-old involved with the group despite his injury.
The wing-back was able to attend both the semi-final and last night's final – as did Reece James, who is close to returning from a torn hamstring – and joined the squad on the podium as they received their winners' medals.
But when Chilwell reached FIFA president Gianni Infantino, he was quick to point out he hadn't played and didn't expect to receive a medal. That notion was dismissed by Infantino, who placed one over the neck of the defender anyway.
Chilwell may not have played in the Club World Cup, but Chelsea were only competing in the tournament because of their Champions League triumph, something Chilwell was hugely influential in.
It's why he deserves his medal as much as any other member of the squad. James too.
Mendy wins the lot
We're sure Edouard Mendy has had worse weeks. Last Sunday, he played a crucial role in helping Senegal win the African Cup of Nations and last night started the Club World Cup final.
There was no clean sheet for the Chelsea goalkeeper but he was on the winning side once more, something which has become a habit for the 29-year-old.
And with the Blues' victory over Palmeiras, Mendy is currently a world champion, African champion, and European champion. It's incredible when you think in 2014 he registered with France's unemployment agency having been released by fourth-tier Cherbourg.
What Tuchel told Abramovich
It was shortly after the full-time whistle was blown that Roman Abramovich made his way out onto the pitch to congratulate Tuchel and his players.
The Chelsea owner shared a high five with his head coach before the two had a short conversation. And Tuchel revealed what was said between the pair during his post-match press conference.
“It’s for him. There is no doubt it’s for him. We met shortly on the pitch after the final and I said congratulations and he said congratulations.
"I said, ‘it’s for you, it’s your club and it’s your input passion that made this possible'. We are happy to be part of it. Of course, the trophy is for him."
