In the end the Chelsea players who had hoped to conquer the world were left slumped on the turf as the Brazilian drums pounded and the raucous hordes of Corinthians supporters bellowed their celebration into the night sky. Ramires buried his head in his hands. David Luiz accepted his side's man-of-the-match award almost reluctantly with his cheeks streaked with tears. "It's a long way to come to lose," said Frank Lampard, which pretty much summed it up.

The Club World Cup has been reclaimed by South America for the first time in six years, a reality to delight the thousands from São Paulo who had upped sticks to Shin Yokohama for this tournament. The din they created chased Chelsea's players down the tunnel, and will have pursued them back to their quayside hotel with another long, sleep-interrupted night ahead before they can consider escape and, almost chillingly, a Capital One Cup quarter-final at Leeds in midweek. Their schedule feels brutal, the rat-a-tat of fixtures relentless. Limbs may be lighter in victory, but the sense of deflation after this was crushing.

Rafael Benítez must contrive a way of picking this team up, as well as a starting lineup who are relatively fresh for Elland Road and a cup tie that once would have stirred the senses. Back in 2005 when his Liverpool side had succumbed mystifyingly to São Paulo in this competition his players had benefited from an eight-day break before taking on Newcastle in the Premier League. His current squad will disembark their 12-hour flight back to Heathrow mid-afternoon on Monday with one full day to catch their breath before the resumption of their domestic campaign. That a third trophy has slipped away, following on from the Community Shield and the European Super Cup, not to mention their elimination from the Champions League at the group stage, will do little to improve their mood. Chances of silverware are being passed off almost wastefully at present.

At least any notion that this tournament had meant little to the European champions can be dispelled. The sight of Chelsea's crestfallen players proved as much, their inability to convert when chances had been eked out in the first period proved critical as the Peruvian Paolo Guerrero, once a Bayern Munich player, registered the only goal midway through the second period. It had owed plenty to the English club's hesitancy, Jorge Henrique nodding down and Paulinho veering across the area with his heavy touch supplying Danilo. The winger, a member of São Paulo's team seven years ago, cut inside and saw his shot loop up invitingly from Gary Cahill's block. David Luiz and Ashley Cole were on the goalline, with Ramires also between the striker and his target, but none reacted quickly enough to prevent Guerrero heading the loose ball in off the underside of the bar.

The Brazilians could delight in keep-ball thereafter, Benítez pointing to time-wasting tactics and plenty of rolling around at hints of fouls, with frustration eventually bubbling over. Cahill and Emerson tangled in the last minute, the Corinthians player appearing to fling out an arm to provoke a reaction, then feigning agony after the centre-half had flicked out his shin in riposte. Benítez offered him consolation on the touchline, though he accepted the decision had been correct upon seeing replays post-match. Cahill will be suspended for that game at Leeds, yet the prospect of putting his feet up will not appeal.

There had been parallels with Munich to all this, the Londoners parachuted into enemy territory with the vast majority hostile within a heaving crowd, though there was to be no magical finale. Where the chance to equalise Bayern's opener had fallen to Didier Drogba at the Allianz Arena, here it arrived at Fernando Torres' feet. César Azpilicueta's throw-in two minutes into stoppage-time prompted panic, the ball squirting out for the Spaniard in front of goal only for Cassio to smother the chance. His flicked header into the net seconds later, chalked off by an offside flag, confirmed the forward's luck was not in.

That Drogba instantly felt missed again put the five goals scored by Torres in three games – against Nordsjaelland, Sunderland and Monterrey – into better context. "Again, you have to try and find the positives in the situation," said Benítez. "He was there. He had the chances. He scored the goal that was disallowed. I agree that he has to take these chances in a final because it's not easy to create too many in games like this. If you have two or three, you have to score. But at least he was winning a lot of balls in the air, he was fresh, and you could see that physically he is improving."

Cassio deserved his own good fortune on the offside, not least for the saves he had made before the interval from Cahill – albeit as he sat on the ball while tumbling backwards – and Victor Moses. They established high standards that did not drop, with the muscular Paulinho growing into the game and Guerrero's discomforting of Chelsea's back-line at the other end eventually gleaning reward.

"This was a real battle between the third world and the first world," said the Brazilians' defender, Paulo Andre. "For our people, for our fans, who have a difficult life, it's so important to show the world we can beat teams like this. And that we can be the best in the world. Just once." They can bask in world domination. For Chelsea, a fruitless journey home and Elland Road on Wednesday night await.