Chelsea assistant hails players for overcoming 'pressure' to reach Club World Cup final

European champions defeat Al Hilal 1-0 in Abu Dhabi to set up title clash with Palmeiras

Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring the only goal of the game against Al Hilal in the Fifa Club World Cup semi-final in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, February 9. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku scores in the first half. PA

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger under pressure from Mohamed Kanno of Al Hilal. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al Muaiouf saves from Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. EPA

Al Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari is challenged by Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Marcos Alonso of Chelsea battles for possession with Al Hilal's with Gustavo Cuellar. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Romelu Lukaku of Chelsea. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal manager Leonardo Jardimm right, with Chelsea assistant coach Zsolt Low before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal line-up before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chelsea line-up before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A Chelsea fan before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal fans before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chelsea fans before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chelsea assistant manager Zsolt Low praised his side for their determination in reaching the Fifa Club World Cup final, but conceded the European champions felt significant pressure during their victory against Al Hilal in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night.

The Premier League side were not at their best at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, and had to rely on Romelu Lukaku’s first-half goal to seal an unconvincing 1-0 win and book a spot in Saturday’s showpiece. There, Chelsea face Brazil’s Palmeiras, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions.

Speaking to the media in manager Thomas Tuchel’s absence – the German tested positive last week for Covid-19 and did not travel to Abu Dhabi – Low said: “We worked very hard. We missed a bit of freedom and rhythm.

“We started a little nervous. It was not easy. We fought hard to find a solution. My opinion is the solution was there, but we didn’t find it easily. But we fought hard to get the result and reach the final.

“This competition is very important for the club. The players felt the pressure and that’s why we failed to find the easy solution and score goals. The players did well. We didn’t concede and had a lot of opportunities to score a second.”

Low said he hopes Lukaku’s goal will mark a turnaround in fortunes for the Belgian. The striker, who pounced upon a mix-up in the Hilal penalty area to ultimately send Chelsea through, had not scored in his previous five matches for the club. It was Lukaku’s ninth goal since his $129 million move from Inter Milan last summer.

“Everyone’s very happy he scored - he fought very hard and tried hard in the game,” Low said. “That’s why we give him the chance all the time. We hoped for a bit of luck to score today.

Al Hilal v Chelsea player ratings

“He’s very happy, we’re very happy, and [we] hope he continues and scores in the final.”

On the possibility of Tuchel joining up with the squad in Abu Dhabi before Saturday's decider, Low said: “We hope Thomas can travel as soon as possible. As I said before, he’ll follow the government rules. He’s in self-isolation now and doing a Covid PCR test every day.

“Once he tests negative it opens the possibility to travel. Every day we wait for it. We wish he can come to the enjoy the final.

“We talked to Thomas at half-time and had a good conversation. He had the same feeling that we were a little nervous and had a lot of easy ball losses. We talked about telling the guys to calm down, find the rhythm and not fight so hard for solutions."