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.

Man United forward Matheus Cunha responded to Joao Pedro's message after his Chelsea debut in their Club World Cup win.

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.

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has emerged as a doubt for their Club World Cup quarter-final tie against Palmeiras. However, the Blues could hand a debut to Joao Pedro. Pedro completed his £60m transfer from Brighton earlier in the week, and has been added to the Blues’ squad having been signed before the new registration deadline.

Chelsea's latest shiny new toy glistened on debut in the sweltering Philadelphia air during the Blues' 2-1 win over Palmeiras, and he repeated the trick on Tuesday night against former club Fluminense, sending Enzo Maresca 's men on their way to a comfortable win with a sumptuous curling effort after 18 minutes.