Turning misfortune into blessing? Chelsea qualified as the second-place team in their group but managed to secure a very favorable signing to reach the semi-finals, feeling relaxed and at ease[KUI]

The last two matches of the third round of the 2025 Club World Cup group stage have been concluded. Real Madrid easily defeated Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 to secure the top spot in Group H and fall into the lower half of the draw. Al-hilal of Riyadh secured the second place in the upper half of the group after defeating Pachuca 2-0. So far, all 16 teams advancing to the knockout stage of the Club World Cup have been determined again. For the Premier League's blues, Chelsea, securing the second-place finish in their group turned out to be a blessing in disguise, securing something so good that it could no longer be labeled.
Judging from the performance in the round of 16, Chelsea's upper half of the draw only has two strong European teams, namely the United States and Manchester City. Their opponent in the round of 16 is Benfica from the Portuguese Super League. Although they defeated Bayern Munich in the group stage to top the group and advance, there is still a certain gap in overall strength compared with Chelsea. The gap was then determined. After defeating Benfica, Chelsea's opponent in the quarter-finals is the winner of the two Brazilian teams, Botafogo and Palmeiras. Palmeiras only won against Cairo National in the group stage. In the upper stage, they could only draw with Porto and Inter Milan. Overall, their fighting ability can be said to be just average.