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 17:31 · Michael Jones]

Second half: Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

Can Al-Hilal find a way back into the game or will Chelsea be progressing through to the final to set up a clas with South America’s Palmeiras?

[9 February 2022 17:18 · Michael Jones]

Half-time: Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

45+1 mins: Chelsea lead at half-time against Al-Hilal. It was a very one-sided affair and the Blues could have easily scored more goals. Romelu Lukaku got onto the scoresheet and looks confident but Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech have been the stand outs so far.

[9 February 2022 17:15 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

45 mins: Ziyech has a go from the front edge of the box and sends it straight into the hands of the Al-Hilal goalkeeper. Chelsea want a second goal to take the pressure off. At 1-0 down Al-Hilal are still in the game but it becomes very hard for them if Chelsea double their lead.

[9 February 2022 17:13 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

42 mins: Chance! Mateo Kovacic flicks the ball into the box and finds Romelu Lukaku. He leans into Al Bulayhi, spins away from the defender and sets up Hakim Ziyech for a shot, Jan Hyuan-soo blocks the first effort but the ball comes back to Ziyech and he blasts another shot at goal but Jang jumps in front of this one too. Last ditch defending from Al-Hilal but they keep the ball out.

[9 February 2022 17:11 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

38 mins: Salem Al-Dawsari is having a good workout. He’s bombing back and forth down Al-Hilal’s left wing trying to link both defence and attack.

Ziyech takes him on as he regains his position in the back line and wins Chelsea another corner.

[9 February 2022 17:07 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea

35 mins: Here we go! Salem Al-Dawsari is played in behind Cesar Azpilicueta with a quickly worked one-two. He carries the ball to the box before cutting inside and smoking a shot from the edge of the box just over the crossbar!

There’s a bit of fight from Al-Hilal.

[9 February 2022 17:02 · Michael Jones]

GOAL! Al-Hilal 0 - 1 Chelsea (Lukaku, 32’)⚽️

32 mins: Chelsea lead! Romelu Lukaku won’t score an easier goal. Kai Havertz does the hard work with another driving run down the left wing. He weaves inside and lifts the ball into the six-yard box. Jang Hyun-soo completely messes up his attempted clearance and just nods the ball into the middle of the six-yard box. Lukaku is hovering in front of goal and gets to the loose ball first, smashing it into the back of the net from close range!

[9 February 2022 17:01 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 0 Chelsea

31 mins: Christensen gets forward on the right side as Azpilicueta makes his way into the box off the ball. Chelsea have four men in the area as Christensen lifts the ball in. Azpilicueta meets it in the air and glances a header over to the back post. Alonso tries to tap it into the back of the net but the ball evades his last ditch lunge.

[9 February 2022 16:58 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 0 Chelsea

28 mins: Chance! Havertz is in play again with a threaded ball into the left side of the box. Lukaku plays off the shoulder of Al Bulayhi and holds the defender at bay. The ball goes past the Chelsea forward and he drills a low left-footed effort at goal but Al-Mayouf manages to get behind it and keep it out of the goal.

[9 February 2022 16:56 · Michael Jones]

Al-Hilal 0 - 0 Chelsea

25 mins: Al-Hilal manage to work the ball out of their own half and put together a nice attack down the left. Salem carries the ball to the side of the box and tries to dribble past Azpilicueta. The Chelsea captain is up the the challenge though, he makes a fine tackle and wins his team a throw in.