Sports Correspondent

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has admitted he regrets his involvement in a heated post-match scuffle with Chelsea forward Joao Pedro following a dramatic 3-0 defeat in the Club World Cup final.

Chelsea stunned European champions PSG at the MetLife Stadium with a dominant performance led by Cole Palmer, who scored twice and assisted the third goal, becoming only the second Blues player since 2013-14 to directly contribute to three goals in a major final. He now joins the ranks of Eden Hazard (2019 Europa League final) and Didier Drogba (2007 EFL Cup final) as the only Chelsea players to score twice in a major final this century.

The game, however, ended in chaos. Tensions flared at the final whistle as PSG stars Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi got into a heated exchange with Chelsea duo Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos. The confrontation escalated when Luis Enrique stepped in and was seen raising his hands to Joao Pedro’s face, prompting the Brazilian to drop to the ground.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Enrique expressed regret over the incident, calling it unnecessary and avoidable.

“At the end of the match, there was a situation that I believe could have been avoided by everyone,” he said. “My objective and my intention, as always, is to try to win over the players so that there are no more problems. Internally, there is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure.”

“And from there, there is a series of shoves from a lot of people, which I think we should all avoid and which should not happen again.”

The match itself was a showcase of Chelsea’s rising talent. Palmer’s brace came within an eight-minute spell in the first half, and he capped his performance with a slick assist for Joao Pedro’s goal just before halftime—sealing Chelsea’s unexpected but emphatic triumph over the French giants.