Sunday's Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain was always going to be a must-watch fixture for football fans around the world.
Before a ball had even been kicked between the reigning Conference League and Champions League winners, they had shared 30 goals between them in their matches en route to the showpiece event at MetLife Stadium.
Odds stacked against Chelsea
191 attempts at goal between them during those games and just six goals conceded - five of those by the West Londoners - as well as being the two teams with the most collective passes in the tournament, meant that part of the pre-match narrative had already seemingly been written.
In Vitinha (666 passes), Achraf Hakimi (473) and Willian Pacho (362), PSG also had three of the top four passers - Bayern's Joshua Kimmich the other - in the competition.
Enzo Maresca on PSG prior to the Club World Cup finalOpta by Stats Perform
Luis Enrique had already spoken pre-match about wanting his team to make history, so if Enzo Maresca's side were aiming to spring a surprise, they were going to have to control the midfield areas whilst being mindful of just how fast PSG were on the break.
Playing a high line therefore wasn't going to be an option for the men from Stamford Bridge.
Not since 2012, when Chelsea were beaten by Corinthians, had a reigning Champions League winner failed to win the CWC, so the odds were stacked in favour of the French giants.
Stunning atmosphere at MetLife Stadium
A cacophony of noise and visual stimuli greeted the players as they were introduced to a capacity crowd. Marquinhos led PSG out in his 22nd career final with them, and he'd been on the winning side in 19 of the previous 21. He and his colleagues were on the back foot in the opening exchanges, however, as Chelsea pressed high and quickly.
Cole Palmer was consistently involved and had two shots off target in the opening 10 minutes alone. With Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the groove in midfield, PSG were having difficulty in getting their own passing game going.
Approaching the quarter hour, PSG still hadn't had a shot, the longest they'd gone at the beginning of a CWC match without one (11:17 vs. Seattle Sounders being the previous longest).
Chelsea's shot chart vs PSGOpta by Stats Perform
Chelsea's more physical style had knocked their opponents out of their stride, and the first time PSG had anything like a half-chance, Desire Doue opted to pass (and subsequently lose possession) rather than taking his chance against Robert Sanchez.
He did finally get their first shot away on 18 minutes with the Chelsea custodian getting a strong hand to the ball to keep the game goalless.
Cole Palmer eased Chelsea into the lead
The distribution from a number of Blues players was on point to complement the forceful nature of their play, with all of Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Pedro Neto offering up 100% pass completion stats in the first 20 minutes.
As the half developed, PSG began to get more joy down the right channel with Hakimi and Doue interchanging positions with ease, but it was Chelsea who struck first as PSG's defence went to sleep, allowing Malo Gusto to eventually find Palmer for the opener.
The youngest Chelsea scorer in a final since Kai Havertz in the 2022 CWC Final vs Palmeiras, the England international had his side in an extremely favourable position given that when scoring first at the CWC, the West Londoners had a record of W5, D0, L1.
Furthermore, the team that had scored first in the knockout rounds of the competition had won 13 of the 14 games before the final.
PSG unable to keep Palmer at bay
Just before the half-hour, Palmer was at it again. Another ball over the top exposed PSG's defensive deficiencies, with the No.10 latching on to the pass before delivering an almost identical finish to put Chelsea two up.
10 touches in the PSG box compared to two at the other end by the Ligue 1 side was a clear enough indicator of how well Enzo Maresca's men were keeping their more illustrious opponents at bay.
They were finding space in all areas of the pitch but were equally happy to cede possession. Just 30.3% of the time did the Premier League outfit hold the ball, and yet they were much more decisive with it.
Joao Neves winning seven out of nine first-half duels was a bright spot amongst the enveloping gloom as Chelsea continued dominating and were good value for their lead. If the Blues were to run out of steam in the heat, Neves could at least provide some sort of impetus as long as his teammates were on the same wavelength.
Three yellow cards for the Blues in quick succession hinted at their intensity potentially getting the better of them if the heat didn't.
Joao Pedro seals the win for Chelsea before half-time
For the French side to have to keep playing back towards their own goal in order to build up a head of steam told its own story.
Ousmane Dembele, who was clearly expected to be one of the dangermen for the Champions League holders, was really off colour. It was from his giveaway at one end that allowed Chelsea to slice through PSG once more and for Joao Pedro to end the move with a beautiful chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Colwill and Gusto winning back possession three times each was a benchmark for a team who went hunting in packs right up until the whistle for the end of an action-packed first half.
By contrast, Dembele, Vitinha, Doue and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia had lost the ball on 22 separate occasions between them, with only Joao Neves adding to Doue's early shot late in the half.
Chelsea vs PSG Momentum ShiftOpta by Stats Perform
It's not an exaggeration to suggest that after 45 minutes PSG looked nothing like the team that had taken on all-comers in 2024/25, and that has to be attributed to the way in which Chelsea closed down the spaces and doubled up defensively to stop crosses into the box.
Hitherto unseen weaknesses had been totally exploited by Maresca, leaving PSG with a mountain to climb.
Superbowl style half-time break
After an extended half-time break to take some 'Superbowl style' half-time entertainment into account, PSG kicked off the second half by booting the ball straight into touch, succeeding in only handing the initiative straight back to their opponents.
Nuno Mendes soon got a run on the Chelsea backline with an attempted cross diverted straight into Sanchez's gloves. Kvaratskhelia then stung the keeper's fingers - his 22nd shot of the CWC, more than any other player - with less than two minutes of the half played, so there was already an improvement from a PSG side with nothing to lose.
Vitinha's influence also began to grow as he was afforded more space in midfield, and his 115 touches overall was way more than any other player on show. However, an inability to effectively deliver his usual excellence on the biggest stage hamstrung a side that were all out of ideas.
Dembele was the next to extend Sanchez whilst well placed, but that fourth shot on target - one more than Chelsea had managed - came to nothing. Unfortunately, it was also in keeping with the tardiness in PSG's general play on the night.
Bradley Barcola's introduction just before the hour saw him making a 64th appearance of the campaign, more than any of his PSG teammates, and Enzo Fernandez's enforced substitution then handed Andrey Santos the chance to help ease his side home.
PSG took the game to their opponents, but for all of their industry,y chances remained at a premium, and Sanchez was equal to anything that came his way with five saves going a long way to preserving Chelsea's lead.
Delap within inches of a dream introduction
Within 30 seconds of coming on, Liam Delap crafted an opportunity for himself, and only Donnarumma's fingertips stopped the former Ipswich man's dream introduction. The giant Italian would be equal to another Delap chance with 11 to play, those two chances in 23 minutes as many as any PSG player managed bar Doue.
Eight interceptions from Chelsea and clearances galore from a backline that sometimes numbered as many as six players at any one time meant that an air of resignation appeared to creep into PSG's play in the latter stages of the game.
Tempers flared as things started to boil over, and that only played right into Chelsea's hands. Indeed, Joao Neves' late red card for pulling Cucurella's hair summed up the match from a PSG perspective.
In the aftermath of what was a galling defeat for them, they will need to reflect on whether complacency played a part in how they approached the game.
Maresca's tactics, rather than a lack of purpose from Luis Enrique's side, is certainly the major takeaway from a fantastic night for the West Londoners, and this win signals Chelsea's intent for the new Premier League season.