Making his full debut against his boyhood club, the 23-year-old scored his first goal in the 18th minute, curling a shot past the goalkeeper after former Chelsea defender Thiago Silva failed to clear Pedro Neto’s cross.

Pedro doubled the lead in the 56th minute with a powerful strike that crashed in off the crossbar, sealing a convincing victory for the Premier League side.

The result adds £22 million to Chelsea’s earnings at the tournament, bringing their total to £82 million. It also marked an immediate return on the £55 million paid to Brighton for Pedro’s services just last week.

Christopher Nkunku had several opportunities to add to the scoreline, while at the other end, Marc Cucurella cleared Hercules shot off the line, and substitute Everaldo had a shot saved.

Fluminense were left frustrated when referee François Letexier overturned a first-half penalty for a Trevoh Chalobah handball after a VAR review. Despite the controversy, Chelsea remained in control once they went ahead, dominating in front of a nearly full crowd at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

The only setback for Chelsea came in stoppage time when midfielder Moisés Caicedo appeared to suffer an ankle injury and limped off before the final whistle.

Chelsea will now face either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in the finals at 11:00 pm on Sunday, July 13, in the same venue.