Chelsea vs Al Hilal LIVE: Club World Cup result, final score and reaction tonight

Follow live updates as the European champions kick off their campaign at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium

(EPA)

Chelsea reach the final of the Club World Cup, as predicted, but just not in a manner they would have expected.

The European champions were made to work embarrassingly hard against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal for an underwhelming 1-0 victory, secured by Romelu Lukaku. The fact the striker had again scored - his first in a month and only his second in 2022 so far, the other against Chesterfield - was one of the few positives, but the game mostly showed why Chelsea had at one point considered Al Hilal manager Leonardo Jardim as a potential candidate for the Stamford Bridge hotseat.

There remain some concerns for the team, as the absence of Thomas Tuchel again brought an absence of any kind of conviction against very moderate opponents.

Al Hilal almost followed League One’s Plymouth Argyle in forcing Chelsea to extra-time in successive games, and it might have been even worse had it not been for the inspired form of Kepa Arrizabalaga. One of his stops was brilliant, particularly as he was unsighted. Chelsea’s problems were all too visible. They still look so disconnected in attack - and that despite the return of Kai Havertz - but now that bit looser in defence.

Whether that is just down to the simple effect of the manager again not being there, having had a positive Covid test, remains to be seen. There is some optimism he may return here for Saturday’s final, in the same stadium. Follow analysis and reaction to the match below:

Chelsea vs Al-Hilal Club World Cup latest updates

• Lukaku ends goal drought to fire Chelsea to Club World Cup final to face Palmeiras
• Chelsea: Kepa; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Ziyech, Lukaku, Havertz
• Al Hilal: Al Maiouf; Alburayk, Jang, Al Bulayhi, Y Shahrani, Cuellar, Kanno, Salem, Pereira, Marega, Ighalo
• 31’ - Lukaku pounces from close-range after Havertz cross deflects his way

[9 February 2022 17:56 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

70 mins: Save! Another break from Al-Hilal sees Marega drives the ball down the right wing and cut into the box. He pulls it back to Ighalo who shoots but sees his effort blocked by Thiago Silva. Ighalo recovers the ball and lays it off to Kanno. Kanno sprints onto a first time shot and guides it towards the left hand post wher Kepa Arrizabalaga leaps across and palms the ball wide of goal.

[9 February 2022 17:54 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

67 mins: Al-Hilal win a free kick after Havertz makes a foul in Chelsea’s half. The set piece is just under 30-yards out from goal and Matheus Pereira is waiting over it. He goes for goal but doesn’t beat the Chelsea wall.

The Blues try to break when the ball comes up to Havertz. He brings it into the midfield and is taken out by Cuellar who also picks up a yellow card.

[9 February 2022 17:51 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

65 mins: Save! Kepa Arrizabalaga is called into action as Matheus Pereira threads the ball into the Chelsea box. Moussa Marega gets to the loose ball first and pokes it towards the near post but Arrizabalaga makes himself big and bundles it wide of goal.

That’s a warning sign for Chelsea. This game isn’t over yet.

[9 February 2022 17:49 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

62 mins: Chance! N’Golo Kante chips the ball into the box and picks out Romelu Lukaku. He’s got his back to goal so nods the ball down to Hakim Ziyceh. Ziyech catches his first time shot as the ball bounces up and forces Al-Mayouf into diving save to his right.

[9 February 2022 17:46 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

59 mins: Nearly! Al-Hilal break on the counterattack after catching Kovacic in possession. Cuellar drives the ball towards the Chelsea box and feeds it to Ighalo on the inside left. Ighalo rolls it onto his right foot and hits one from just outside the penalty area but Thiago Silva is well positioned to block the effort.

[9 February 2022 17:43 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

56 mins: Marcos Alonso is played into the left side of the box and wins a corner as his attempted cross is blocked behind. Hakim Ziyech swings the ball into the middle and Cesar Azpilicutea wins the initial header. He glances over to the back post but Kai Havertz can’t keep it in play.

Andreas Christensen went down in the box under pressure from Gustavo Cuellar and there’s a VAR check for a potential penalty but nothing comes of it.

[9 February 2022 17:39 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

53 mins: Chance! Nice work from Al-Hilal who string together a few one-touch passes to work the ball down the right wing. It’s played inside to Odion Ighalo who lays it off to Mohamed Kanno for a shot from range. He strikes it well but the ball continues to rise and narrowly goes over the crossbar!

[9 February 2022 17:37 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

50 mins: Havertz turns well on the left side and drives in behind the Al-Hilal right-back. He carries the ball into the penalty area and has the options of Lukaku and Ziyech to pick out. Instead he goes it alone, is forced to the byline and then hits the post with a deflected shot.

[9 February 2022 17:35 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

48 mins: Al Burayk gets forward on the right side and dinks the ball past a defending Kovacic. He quickly realises that he’s not going to catch the ball before it rolls out of play and dives to the ground. Kovacic just looks at him and laughs as the referee waves for a goal kick.

[9 February 2022 17:33 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

Kick off: Al-Hilal get the second half started. Chelsea make a change at half-time as N’Golo Kante replaces Jorginho. Romelu Lukaku’s first half goal has given Chelsea but they were the overwhelmingly dominant side in the first 45 minutes. Another performance like that and the Blues will make it to the final.