Though the Brazilians had the first shot of the game in the second minute when Bruno Fuchs' effort was blocked, it was the west Londoners that were quicker out of the blocks, with Cole Palmer the protagonist.
Chelsea on the front foot from the first whistle
The England international's shot on target was quickly followed by another, with Enzo Fernandez also going close with one of two efforts as Chelsea swarmed all over their opponents having 77.6% possession over the opening 15 minutes of this game.
It seemed to be only a matter of time before the Blues took the lead, and just after the quarter hour that's exactly what happened.
Trevoh Chalobah was allowed to maraud forward deep into Palmeiras territory, and his low, crisply delivered pass was sumptuously controlled by Palmer on the turn before he eased away from the opposition defence and slid home.
That will have rung the alarm bells for Palmeiras as Chelsea had a Club World Cup record of W3, D0, L1 when scoring the opening goal.
Still Chelsea poured forward, Marc Cucurella, Chalobah and Fernandez all adding to Chelsea's shot count of eight before half hour had been played.
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Pass completion stats exposed difference in quality
The difference in quality was marked and most noticeable in the distribution of both sides. Chelsea's players were all in the 80% bracket and upwards, with Cucurella's 95.5% pass completion the best on show. By contrast, the majority of Palmeiras players were in the 60-70% range, so Micael's 94.6% was a standout effort.
It would take until the 42nd minute before the Brazilians had their first shot on target from Vanderlan, and their inability to be firing on all cylinders in front of goal was due in no small part to the defensive excellence of Malo Gusto whose five first-half tackles - including one he was booked for late in the opening 45 - was the most of any player.
Palmeiras supporters won't have been surprised by the lack of goals as they hadn't managed to breach any opposition defence in the first-half of any of their five games, whilst Chelsea hadn't conceded in any of their five matches before half-time.
Blues fans can't have been too unhappy either with the efforts of their players, albeit new signing Liam Delap can hardly be said to have made an impression after managing just eight touches before the half-time whistle blew.
Seven minutes after the break, Estevao, set to join Chelsea after the tournament, smashed in an equaliser from an acute angle to level the scores with just Palmeiras' second shot on target. The manic way he celebrated may not have gone down well with the Stamford Bridge faithful, however.
The Brazilian team's third goal in the opening 15 minutes of the second half meant no team had scored more in that time frame at the CWC.
The equaliser sparked a furious response from Enzo Maresca as he made two quick substitutions including Delap - who'll be suspended for the semi-final after picking up a second yellow card in the tournament - and urged his players upfield.
Late winner sees Chelsea into semis
The broadside appeared to have the desired effect as Chelsea quickly rattled off four efforts at goal as they looked to re-assert their authority on the game.
Joao Pedro, who replaced Delap, showed his quality during his 37 minute cameo, managing eight touches in the opposition box compared to just one from the former Ipswich Town man. In fact, the former's forays deep into Palmeiras territory became a real feature and gave the new signing some prominence in the tie.
As the game reached the latter stages, Chelsea put their foot on the accelerator again, only allowing their opponents the occasional half-chance.
62.7% possession collectively and 19 shots compared to Palmeiras' seven was a clear enough indication as to the dominance of the Premier League side.
With eight minutes to play, Malo Gusto's shot towards goal was deflected past Weverton by the outstretched boot of Agustin Giay, and Chelsea were almost home and dry. Estevao's efforts were in vain and a major concern was his loss of possession on 17 separate occasions - more than any other player on show.
Try as they might, Palmeiras managed just seven shots on goal in the game, their lowest total at the CWC, and with 41.0% of the action in their third of the pitch during the last 15 minutes, the Brazilians simply ran out of steam against a fitter and more robust Premier League side.
Check out the full match summary here.
