Russia (bbabo.net), - Chelsea London beat Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) 1-0 thanks to a goal from Romel Lukaku to reach the final of the Club World Cup held in the Emirates. The Blues will take on Brazil's Palmeiras in the decider on Saturday.

The current draw of the Club World Cup is historical. It will be the last in the usual format, since the competition will later be expanded to 24 teams and will be held every four years, replacing the Confederations Cup.

By tradition, the main favorite of the tournament is the winner of the European Champions League. In this case, Chelsea. By the way, "pensioners" have never won this trophy. They had a good chance in 2012, but in the final, the British unexpectedly lost to the Brazilian Corinthians - 0:1.

- When you participate in such a forum, the only thing that worries you is victory. Perhaps, if you don't play in it, you have a slightly lukewarm attitude towards this tournament. This is my personal opinion, maybe I'm wrong, - said Chelsea helmsman Thomas Tuchel before flying to the Emirates.

Since the first Club World Cup, only two representatives of the English Premier League - Manchester United and Liverpool - have won the prestigious cup. Chelsea have a good opportunity to become third in this list and, after triumphing in the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, win another title.

Chelsea have never won a Club World Cup

“An opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day. I think it is unnecessary to somehow additionally motivate the players. Everyone understands perfectly well what needs to be done, Tuchel summed up.

Another reason to follow the Club World Cup is refereeing. A historic event took place at the tournament in the Emirates - it was the first time that a semi-automatic offside detection system was used. With the help of the latest technology, the goal of Al Jazeera (UAE) footballer Zayed Al-Ameri against Pirae was canceled. Without any delay, the VAR judges saw on the screen that several "playing body parts" of the attacking player were behind the offside line at once.

$5 million for Club World Cup winner

First of all, this system differs from the current speed and accuracy. It is actively used in secondary competitions under the auspices of FIFA, and the ultimate goal is its implementation at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It is based on artificial intelligence and 12 cameras (frequency - 50 frames per second), including mobile ones located on the sideline. Together with the neural network that determines the body parts of the players, they form a 3D picture of the moment and in controversial episodes give a clear answer whether it was offside or not. The referees on the monitor see the field, the ball and the models of the players. If the system successfully passes the test, there is no need to draw offside lines manually. It turns out that the main VAR vulnerability will be eliminated.

But what is important - the new technology does not replace the referee, it only gives them a new source of information, saving time and insuring against mistakes. The final decision still remains with the judge. It is planned to launch a new system in club football starting from the 2023/24 season. The list of competitions has not yet been determined, however, most likely, the technology will be in both European competitions and top national championships.

Meanwhile

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo is in a bit of a crisis: in five matches in 2022, the Portuguese failed to score and repeated his worst streak without scoring goals.

The last time Ronaldo failed to score in five straight matches for his club was in 2010, when he was still playing for Real Madrid. Another interesting statistic: Ronaldo hasn't scored in any of the last 10 English Premier League (EPL) games in which he came on as a substitute. So in the game of the 23rd round on the road against Burnley, the Portuguese appeared on the field after the break, but failed to help his team win (1:1).

Of course, the head coach of “MJ” Ralph Rangnick could not help asking why he left his top scorer on the bench. The German specialist admitted: it's not about injury or feeling unwell. “Recently, we opposed Burnley and we know that at first against this team you have to run a lot, fight for rebounds. We started with Cavani, because the power game suits him more than Cristiano,” said Rangnick.

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