Chelsea hits World Club Cup final

Champions League holders Chelsea on Thursday advanced to the final of the World Club Cup after beating Mexican club Monterrey 3-1 in the semi final, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The Premier League club will face South American champions Corinthians after the Brazilian club beat Al Ahly 1-0 in the other semi-final on Wednesday.

Juan Mata opened the scoring in the 17th minute for the Blues, while Fernando Torres and an own goal by Darvin Chavez gave Chelsea a comfortable 3-0 lead shortly after the break.

Aldo de Nigris pulled one back in injury time for the Mexican club, which will now face Al Ahly in the play-off for third place.

The last five editions of the tournament have been won by European teams, with Barcelona hammering Santos 4-0 in 2011 after Brazilian clubs won the first three editions in 2000, 2005 and 2006.

The Club World Cup brings together the champions from the six confederations of the ruling body FIFA, and a team from the host nation.

This year’s edition sees the introduction of goal-line technology for the first time at a big tournament.