"All of us watching fell for it hook, line and sinker" - Pat Nevin hails Chelsea star's moment of 'supreme intelligence' in Club World Cup final 

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin hailed Cesar Azpilicueta's "supreme intelligence" during the Club World Cup final.

The Blues defeated Palmeiras 2-1 on February 12 to lift their first trophy in the competition, with Kai Havertz netting the winning strike from the spot in the 117th minute.

In the build-up to the same, the Spaniard pulled off something very clever to ease the pressure off Havertz.

As soon as the referee pointed to the spot, the Chelsea skipper grabbed the ball following which he received some verbals from a few Palmeiras players, who tried to distract him.

However, it was just a ploy as he only pretended to be the penalty-taker, before handing the ball away to Havertz, who stood behind quietly all the while.

The German then stepped up and nonchalantly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and winning it for Chelsea.

Nevin has waxed lyrical about Azpilicueta's intelligence for it in his piece on Chelsea's official website, saying:

"Maybe you have heard of a player taking the ball at a vital moment in the build-up to a penalty to relieve the pressure exerted on his team-mate, but I haven’t."

He added:

"It was a moment of supreme intelligence, psychological knowledge and selfless awareness. Every Palmeiras player and all of us watching fell for it hook, line and sinker. Only Kai Havertz seemed in on it, and he quietly allowed Azpi to take the sledging before calmly taking the ball himself at the last second."

Azpilicueta had a terrific game himself, but topped it off with this act of brilliance for the match-winning goal.

Nevin especially praised the player for pulling it off in a big game like a final.

"You should never underestimate the importance of a player who thinks outside the box in that way. I suspect this action will become the ‘done thing’ in these sorts of situations from now on."

He added:

"He may not have been the first to trick the opposition in this way, but the high profile of doing it at the Club World Cup final before Kai slotted in the winner was a game changer, in every sense."

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Azpilicueta has won every title with Chelsea

Since joining the Blues in 2012 from French club Marseille in a deal worth £7 million, the Spaniard has won every title up for grabs.

The Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Super Cup - you name it.

The Club World Cup title was the only silverware missing from his glittering cabinet, but that void is now filled too after their victory last Saturday.

He remains a vital part of the club and will no doubt go down in history as a true Chelsea legend.

Azpilicueta has already made 459 appearances for the club and is seven games away from entering the top five appearance-makers for the Blues in the all-time list.

It might just be Dave's last season at the club as well, since he will become a free agent in the summer and no extension on his deal has been agreed yet.