Chelsea will face Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia for a place in the Club World Cup final this week.
The AFC Champions League holders thrashed UAE Pro League champions Al Jazira 6-1 in Abu Dhabi to seal a semi-final showdown with Thomas Tuchel’s side at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Wednesday.
Former Manchester United and Watford striker Odion Ighalo scored on his debut for Al Hilal on Sunday, while ex-West Brom winger Matheus Pereira was also on target along with Mohamed Kanno, Salem Al-Dawsari, Moussa Marega and Andre Carillo.
Al Jazira - who beat A.S. Pirae of Tahiti in the first round - actually went 1-0 up early on through Abdoulay Diaby, only for Ighalo’s equaliser nine minutes before the break to spark a collapse.
They will now play Monterrey in a fifth-place play-off after the Mexican side were edged out by Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Chelsea travelled out to Abu Dhabi earlier on Sunday morning following a nervy extra-time win over third-tier Plymouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with their 23-man squad including Reece James despite the England right-back being a big injury doubt for the tournament.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy will join up with the squad late after the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Egypt in Cameroon.
It remains to be seen when head coach Tuchel will be able to join his players, however, following a positive Covid-19 test that saw him absent from the touchline against Plymouth and unable to travel to Abu Dhabi as scheduled.
Assistant Arno Michels led the team on Saturday, in contact with an isolating Tuchel at home.
The winners of Wednesday’s semi-final tie between Chelsea and Al Hilal will face either Al Ahly or Palmeiras of Brazil in next Saturday’s Club World Cup showpiece.
The losers of both last-four matches will face a third-place play-off at Al Nahyan Stadium on the same day.
