The quest is finally over. Chelsea can say that they have won the lot under Roman Abramovich. They were determined not to fly home empty-handed this time and, 10 years on from losing the final of the Club World Cup to Corinthians, the celebrations were joyous once the full-time whistle had confirmed that Chelsea had not stumbled again against stubborn Brazilian opponents.
Perhaps it had to be this way. Stodgy in attack, there was a predictability to Chelsea leaving it late on a tense evening at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. They were hardly banging on the door as the end of extra-time approached and Palmeiras, who were after their first world crown, must have thought that they had done enough to earn a penalty shoot-out.
