Paris Saint-Germain open their Club World Cup challenge with a 4-0 victory over fellow European giants Atletico Madrid in Group B.
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain opened their Club World Cup campaign with a 4-0 victory over fellow European giants Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.
Luis Enrique’s side were two goals ahead at the interval, with Fabian Ruiz finding the back of the net in the 19th minute before Vitinha added a second shortly before the break.
Atletico thought that they had halved the deficit just before the hour, but Julian Alvarez‘s effort was chalked off for a foul from Soon on Desire Douemuch to the disappointment of those in the stadium supporting the Red and Whites.
PSG then added a third in the latter stages through Senny Mayulubefore Lee Kang-in struck a late penalty, with the team in blue securing an excellent three points in their opening match in the section.
Atletico also lost Clement Lenglet to a late red card in an incredibly disappointing match for the La Liga giants.
PSG are the champions of Europe, and they are fancied to advance deep into this competition, with Enrique’s side viewed as the favourites alongside Real Madrid.
The French champions showed their immense quality in the opening half of the contest, with their midfield proving to be too strong for Atletico’s, as Ruiz and Vitinha got their name on the scoresheet.
In fairness to Atletico, there was a response in the second half, but their goal just before the hour was rightly disallowed, as there was a clear foul from Koke on Doue which had initially been missed by the referee.
Enrique’s side then scored twice more late on to add gloss to the scoreline, but the statistics show just how dominant they were, having 11 shots on target to Atletico’s one.
PSG, who are a serious, serious team, have got through their toughest game in Group B with all three points, but Atletico now need to bounce back quickly if they are to advance into the knockout round of the competition.
PSG make the breakthrough in the 19th minute of the contest, and it is a super strike from Ruiz, with the Spain international firing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box.
PSG double their lead in the latter stages of the first period, as Vitinha drives into the middle of the Atletico penalty box before firing the ball into the far corner. Where was the defending from Atletico?
Atletico are reduced to 10 men, as Lenglet picks up a second yellow card.
PSG make sure of all three points in their first match of the tournament, as Mayulu drills the ball into the bottom corner; the French champions have been excellent here.
PSG have a fourth from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of additional time at the end of the 90, with Kang-in finding the back of the net following a handball from Robin Le Normand.
Vitinha has just had an exceptional 2024-25 campaign for PSG, and he was the best player on the pitch on Sunday, with the Portugal international inspiring his side to all three points.
The midfielder’s first-half goal was excellent, but he simply ran the show from the middle, finishing with a pass success rate of 97%, with the pass master putting in a stylish performance.
Possession: PSG 74% -26% Atletico
Shots: PSG 16-5 Atletico
Shots on target: PSG 11-1 Atletico
Corners: PSG 4-2 Atletico
Fouls: PSG 7-8 Atletico
PSG’s second match in the tournament is against Botafogo on June 20, when they will be bidding to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
Atletico, meanwhile, are now under pressure to pick up all three points against Seattle Sounders on June 19, and it would be a shock if that match ended in anything other than a victory for Diego Simeone‘s side.
