Unfamiliar opponents have been a consistent theme through Chelsea’s run to the final. In four of their six matches in the Club World Cup, Chelsea have met their opponents for the first time in history. Only one side in their run, Benfica, they have met more than twice. But Enzo Maresca’s side handled their draw with relative ease.

PSG reached the final after routing Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 4-0 in the round 16, beating German giants Bayern Munich 2-0 in the quarterfinal with two red cards and crushing Spanish giants Real Madrid 4-0 in the semifinal. But the French side failed to complete what would've been a memorable run.