In sweltering conditions in New Jersey, Maresca's side produced a display of quality and maturity. We limited our Brazilian opponents to very few chances while creating several of our own. Two of them were taken in style by Joao Pedro.

On his full debut, the 23-year-old put the Blues ahead in the 18th minute when he whipped a 20-yard shot across goal and into the far corner. His second arrived ten minutes into the second period; it was a thunderous drive that found the net via the crossbar.

Those goals proved enough to secure a return to MetLife Stadium for Sunday's final, where we will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid. And a very pleased Maresca highlighted what reaching the showpiece game of the tournament means to him and his squad.

He said: ‘We are very happy and very proud to play the final. The reason why is that this is the Club World Cup, the best clubs in the world are here. So for us to be there [in the final] on Sunday is something we have to be proud and happy about.’

On the Blues' performance against Fluminense, Maresca added: ‘We started one way, they changed a little bit, so we adjusted immediately. The players dealt with all the conditions – the weather and other things – in a brilliant way.

‘In some moments, we were able to maintain a high tempo; it was not possible to maintain for 95 minutes because of the weather. But they handled it in a fantastic way.'

With Liam Delap suspended, Maresca had to make a decision over which player led the Chelsea attack during tonight's semi-final. His decision to select Joao Pedro, who only completed his transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion a week ago, more than paid off.

He said: ‘We knew against a low block that Joao was going to help us because he has quality in the last third against teams that defend deep. He showed today how good he is, but it’s just the beginning.

'We knew already how good Joao is. Today, he was playing a little deep, and we know how good he is at dropping and linking [with his team-mates]. He is very good technically in small spaces, and that’s why we decided to bring him here.’

The Blues, unfortunately, ended tonight's win with ten players after Moises Caicedo was brought off in stoppage time after twisting his knee.

Maresca provided an update on the Ecuadorian midfielder and also explained why Dario Essugo was not included in today's match-day squad.

He said: 'Dario had a muscle problem yesterday during the session, probably he is now going to be ready for next season.

'Moi, twisted his ankle. When it happened, I told him, because there were just two or three minutes to go, that we could finish with 10 players. It's important that we don't get too worked up because we have a game on Sunday.

'He said he would try, but he felt pain. So, hopefully, he can be fit for Sunday.'