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Joao Pedro makes his mark for Chelsea at Club World Cup as Blues' attacking musical chairs continues
Rare is the day a player earns a first start for their new team in the semifinal of a competition despite being under contract with an entirely different club during the group stage, but leave it to the new-look Club World Cup to shoehorn a new quirk into the structured soccer calendar.
The club's new signing scored twice against Fluminense but there was much more to admire about his game on Tuesday
João Pedro had just scored on a 20-yard curling shot in his first start for Chelsea, putting his team ahead in a Club World Cup semifinal less than a week after signing with the London power. He took two steps to start to celebrate and then he stopped.
With new Chelsea signing Joao Pedro scoring a brace against his former club Fluminense at their Club World Cup semifinal, the gauntlet has been laid in the battle for who should start at striker for Chelsea.
Joao Pedro registered 26 touches of the ball against Fluminense. Of all Chelsea forwards to have started at the Club World Cup, only Jackson has managed as many touches in a match. Not all of the Brazilian's touches took place inside the opposition half, however – far from it.