The pursuit of the FIFA Club World Cup title took a promising turn for Paris Saint-Germain as they secured a resounding 4-0 victory over a 10-man Atletico Madrid in Group B, during their first outing in this prestigious tournament at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Julian Alvarez set the tone early with a free-kick that curled just past Gianluigi Donnarumma’s post within the first three minutes, serving as a warning for the European champions. It wasn’t until the 17th minute that Jan Oblak was called into action, when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia created space and unleashed a turn-and-strike.
The Slovenian goalkeeper managed to stop that effort, but just two minutes later, he was powerless against Fabian Ruiz’s strike, who latched onto a layoff from Kvaratskhelia to find the bottom corner.
After taking the lead, PSG began to control the game, though both sides struggled to find their rhythm in the sweltering Californian heat, with only fleeting moments of brilliance on display.
Atletico, forced to play on the back foot, came close to equalising when Antoine Griezmann produced a powerful shot towards Donnarumma, but the Parisians quickly countered to score a second goal.
Kvaratskhelia turned provider once more, setting up Vitinha, who exploited time and space to navigate into the penalty area and slot the ball past Oblak.
PSG’s attacking flair, a hallmark of Luis Enrique’s season, was evident early in the second half when Nuno Mendes sliced through the Atletico defence, setting up Kvaratskhelia, whose curling attempt hit the crossbar thanks to a brilliant fingertip save by Oblak.
Just as Atletico sensed a return to contention, Alvarez found the net, only for VAR to rule the goal out for a foul in the build-up involving Koke.
Matters took a turn for the worse for Atletico 11 minutes from time; Clement Lenglet was issued a second yellow card after protesting fiercely to referee Istvan Kovacs, who declined to penalise Senny Mayulu for charging Oblak during his attempted roll-out, leaving Diego Simeone’s side with ten men.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Atletico managed to create their most promising scoring chance soon after, yet Alexander Sorloth squandered a clear opportunity, sending his effort over from just four yards.
Ultimately, PSG were worthy of a third goal, which came after Atletico failed to clear a threatening cross from Achraf Hakimi, allowing Mayulu to find the bottom corner and secure a first competitive win against the Spanish club, marking the 10th time Enrique has triumphed over Simeone.
In stoppage time, VAR penalised Robin Le Normand for a handball inside the area, further enhancing Atletico’s misfortunes as Lee Kang-in converted the resulting penalty, sealing the scoreline at 4-0.
This comprehensive victory has elevated PSG’s status to favourites among some fans as they convincingly navigated through what was considered their toughest group stage challenge.
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Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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