Paris Saint-Germain got a taste of their own medicine in the Fifa Club World Cup final at the sun-baked MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday.

Favourites to win the newly expanded tournament, they came against a Chelsea side which just did not give the quadruple-chasing Luis Enrique's men any room to play their vaunted pressing game.

PSG, who have steamrolled their rivals, including four Premier League sides, en route to winning their maiden Champions League title on May 31, were left chasing shadows. Something they were not accustomed to.

"PSG have been PSG-ed," Gareth Bale said on DAZN.

Cole Palmer scored a double, Joao Pedro got the third and Chelsea sealed the deal even before the half-time whistle was blown.

Chelsea's triumph and the way they bossed over PSG would send a warning to the Premier League rivals like Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City and also other European teams who they will face when the Champions League begins in August. Surely, Chelsea are hitting the right chords.

PSG were left stunned. Nuno Mendes did not know how to deal with Palmer's guile and Pedro's blistering pace. "We had a lot of success exploring the left side of their defence," Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said.

Achraf Hakimi, who hardly put a wrong step till Sunday, suddenly found the going tough against Pedro Neto and Marc Cucurella. Add to that Enzo Fernandez's presence in the midfield and Moises Caicedo taking care of Ousmane Dembele.

This bunch of Chelsea players have been together for the past year. In the Premier League 2024-25, Chelsea showed glimpses of the talent they have at their disposal, only to fritter it away by being inconsistent. They won the Europa Conference League, the third-tier continental tournament, and finished fourth in the League to earn a berth in the Champions League.

They came into the final as rank outsiders. But football is a great leveller. Sunday proved that once again.

Palmer, since his transfer from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, has been the barometer of this Chelsea side. If he plays well, Chelsea thrive; if he does not, the team looks ordinary. Like they were when Palmer went 18 games without scoring.

Palmer has a cheeky street smartness, which is so evident amongst Latin American players. In his first season at Chelsea, he had sneaked in as former Manchester City teammates got into a huddle before a free-kick during a Premier League game. A laughing Erling Haaland had pushed him out.

In the US, Marseca moved the left-footed England international from a more central role to his preferred right side. It paid dividends.

The 23-year-old midfielder made the best use of the space against PSG and, with a little bit of luck, could have got a hat-trick.

Early in the first half, after Neto teed him up, Palmer curled in a shot into the far corner. PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could only watch as the shot missed the target by a whisker.

It, however, gave an idea of what's in store for PSG. Soon, Palmer got two and then slipped one for Joao Pedro, who lobbed it over Donnarumma in style.

“These are the games where we expect Cole to appear. These are big games,” Maresca said.

"A great feeling. Even better because everyone doubted us before the game," Palmer beamed.

True. Chelsea bettered the best and painted the Club World Cup in their colours.

For now, Blue is the hue.