Paris Saint-Germain began its Club World Cup campaign with a resounding 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday, asserting its dominance in a dazzling display at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The reigning Champions League winners picked up right where they left off, dispatching another European heavyweight with ease in front of a lively crowd of 80,000.
Midfielder Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a stunning long-range strike, giving PSG an early lead under the sunny Southern California skies. The French side, fresh off a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final, looked sharp and in control from the start.
Just before halftime, PSG doubled its lead. A missed opportunity by Antoine Griezmann turned into a blistering counter-attack, ending with Vitinha calmly slotting the ball home. Named man of the match, Vitinha emphasized the importance of consistency in their play. “The hardest thing to do in football is to maintain the level, not just going high and low,” he said. “That’s what I tried to do. Very good performance by the team and a very good start to this competition.”
Atletico Madrid seemed to claw one back in the 57th minute through Julian Alvarez, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR check that revealed a foul by Koke on PSG’s Desire Doue. The decision drew sarcastic applause from Atletico’s head coach Diego Simeone, capturing the frustration on the Spanish bench.
Things went from bad to worse for Atletico when defender Clement Lenglet was shown a second yellow card and sent off. Minutes later, Alexander Sorloth squandered a golden chance to pull one back, skying a tap-in opportunity.
PSG sealed the match with two late goals. Substitute Senny Mayulu found the net in the 87th minute, and Lee Kang-in converted a penalty in stoppage time to complete the rout.
Despite missing injured star Ousmane Dembele, PSG’s performance was dominant, controlling 74% of possession and recording 11 shots on target to Atletico’s single attempt.
“It was a different environment, but it feels good to see so many people in the USA here to watch soccer, or to watch football, as I say,” Vitinha said, highlighting the electric atmosphere in Pasadena.
PSG next faces Brazilian side Botafogo at the same venue on Thursday, while Atletico will look to regroup against Seattle Sounders in Washington.
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