PSG cruise past Atletico Madrid to get Club World Cup campaign off to perfect start
Three of the best: Vitinha, Desire Doue and Goncalo Ramos formed a devastating trio (Getty Images)
Paris Saint-Germain made a winning start to their Club World Cup with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.
In Group B's first match, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu, and Kang-In Lee were on target as the newly-crowned Champions League winners got off to a flyer in the heat at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Advertisement
Luis Enrique's side weren't at their scintialling best as they had shown in their 5-0 decimation of Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but they showed signs that they had brought that Munich momentum with them stateside with a professional performance against an errant Atleti.
Paris suffered a scare in the early exchanges as Julian Alvarez bent a free kick just wide of Gianluigi Donnarumma's near post, but they were ahead inside 18 minutes.
Fabian was the goalscorer, arrowing an effort hard and low into the far corner to open the scoring and give the Ligue 1 champions a deserved advantage.
Their high-octane pressing was proving too much for a laxadaisical Atletico side who seemed to be lacking a bit of unity, and with Fabian and Vitinha orchestrating play from the Parisian engine room, there was no stopping the French side.
Advertisement
They doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time, with Vitinha slotting home cooly past Jan Oblak to finish a sweeping move from back to front after Antoine Griezmann had tested Donnarumma for the first time just seconds earlier.
Atleti upped their intensity in the opening minutes of the second half, but they imploded as the game wore on, with Clement Lenglet's petulance earning him his marching orders as tempers flared and Simeone's side continued to collect needless bookings.
Atletico thought they had halved the deficit through Alvarez as Desire Doue was robbed by Koke, before Pablo Barrios fed Alvarez, who had peeled off his marker. The Argentine struck beyond Donnarumma, but the goal was chalked off by VAR for a foul on Doue by Koke, leaving Diego Simeone to sarcastically applaud on the touchline.
Mayulu repeated his Champions League feat by adding a third late on, slamming home emphatically as a loose ball broke his way to compound Atletico's miserable afternoon.
Advertisement
It could only go from bad to worse for the Spanish side as Robin Le Normand was adjudged by VAR to have handled Ibrahima Mbaye's shot, and Lee converted the resulting penalty to round off a Rose Bowl rout for the Parisians.
The youthful exuberance shone through from Paris' stars in the end, keeping their heads in tempestuous conditions as they sailed past their Spanish counterparts to top the group with ease.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
7 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Inter Milan held to 1-1 draw by Monterrey in Club World Cup opener
Associated Press PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Inter Milan was held to a 1-1 draw by Monterrey in the Club World Cup opener Tuesday night in the Italian power's first match since losing the Champions League final. Veteran Spanish star Sergio Ramos scored on a stunning first-half header for Monterrey, delighting the decidedly pro-Mexico crowd in Southern California for Monterrey coach Domènec Torrent's own debut. Lautaro Martinez evened it late in the first half for Inter, but the Champions League finalists couldn't generate a second goal despite having nearly 62% possession while Monterrey got only one shot on target. Inter manager Cristian Chivu made his debut as the Nerazzurri returned to competition at the Rose Bowl just 17 days after taking that 5-0 thrashing from Paris Saint-Germain in Munich. After the 39-year-old Ramos put Los Rayados ahead, Martínez answered in the 42nd minute with a tap-in of Carlos Augusto's pass after a world-class sequence of ball movement from a setpiece. Martínez thought he scored again in the 68th minute, but was offside. Both teams narrowly missed goals in the final minutes, and Martínez picked up a yellow card in second-half injury time. Chivu started only seven of Simone Inzaghi's choices for the Champions League final. Ailing striker Marcus Thuram came on early in the second half to replace 22-year-old Sebastiano Esposito, who started his first game back from seven loan stints since his previous appearance for Inter in 2020. Key moment Inter carried play early, but Ramos capitalized on Monterrey's first corner kick by outjumping two defenders and converting an acrobatic header. The Real Madrid stalwart and World Cup winner joined Monterrey four months ago. Takeaways Inter still hasn't shaken off the disappointment in Munich, but both teams now have a good chance to advance from a group also including River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds. Ramos can still summon greatness in the twilight of his career. The matchless center back will also throw out the first pitch at the Los Angeles Dodgers game on Wednesday. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Inter held by Monterrey to start Club World Cup campaign
Inter Milan's Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez equalises in a 1-1 Club World Cup draw with Mexico's Monterrey at the Pasadena Rose Bowl (Patrick T. Fallon) Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw against Monterrey in their FIFA Club World Cup Group E opener in Pasadena on Tuesday. Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez scored a well-worked equaliser to cancel out Sergio Ramos's opener for Monterrey in a hard-fought tussle in front of 40,311 fans at the Rose Bowl. Advertisement Inter, playing their first game since being thrashed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final earlier this month, were left ruing their failure to turn their dominance of possession and territory into goals. The Italian giants were in complete control almost from the kick-off, Benjamin Pavard the first to threaten with an eighth-minute shot that flew over the bar. Matteo Darmian should have done better in the 22nd minute but shot over after clever work down the left from Nicolo Barella. Yet despite the early onslaught, Inter were rocked in the 25th minute when Monterrey scored from one of their few forays into the Italians' half. Advertisement Midfielder Oliver Torres swung a corner in from the right and the 39-year-old former Real Madrid and Spain star Ramos -- who had lost Francesco Acerbi on the edge of the six-yard box -- steered his header into the bottom corner. Inter were soon back on the offensive and only a point-blank save by Monterrey goalkeeper Esteban Andrada from Sebastiano Esposito prevented an equaliser. Martinez also went close after 36 minutes, and Inter had a strong penalty appeal when Pavard's header struck Ramos on the arm inside the area. VAR found in favor of Ramos and Monterrey escaped. Three minutes later Inter drew level with a wonderfully worked free-kick routine. Advertisement Albanian international Kristjan Asllani shaped to shoot from 25 yards out but instead flighted a delicate chip behind the Monterrey defence. Brazilian international Carlos Augusto timed his run to perfection and squared into the path of Martinez, who tapped in for 1-1. Monterrey almost regained the lead against the run of play on 64 minutes, Sergio Canales unleashing a low shot that cannoned off the post. Inter had a Martinez goal ruled out for offside moments later as the Italians continued to threaten. But it was Monterrey who came closest to grabbing a winner in stoppage time when Colombian midfielder Nelson Deossa got behind the Inter defence but could only shoot into the side netting. rcw/pst
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Inter Milan's packed schedule shows strains FIFA Club World Cup puts on teams
Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu instructs his players during a 1-1 draw with Monterrey in the FIFA Club World Cup at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday night. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press) It's been just 18 days since Inter Milan played its last game, losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final. But a lot has happened since then. The team parted ways with manager Simone Inzaghi, who led it to two European finals in three seasons, and replaced him with Cristian Chivu. It temporarily lost the services of forward Mehdi Taremi, who had returned to his native Iran earlier this month and became stranded there when Israeli attacks closed the airspace over much of the Mideast. Advertisement Then the rest of the second-best club in Europe traveled 6,000 miles from Milan to Los Angeles, where it opened the Club World Cup on Tuesday in a 1-1 draw with Mexican club Monterrey before an announced crowd of 40,311 at the Rose Bowl. Read more: Commentary: Angel City takes stand against immigration raids as others stay silent 'We're trying to focus. And it's not easy every day, I'm not going to lie,' said forward Marcus Thuram, whose 18 goals in all competition was second on the team this season. 'But it's part of what we do, we love what we do and we'll continue doing what we do.' Only doing what they do has become far more complicated and exhausting in recent years as the competition schedule for both club and country has expanded. Advertisement Thuram's father, Lilian, was widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his era during an 18-year career that saw him win two Serie A titles, a European championship and play in two World Cup finals, winning one. But he appeared in 46 or more club matches in a season just four times before retiring in 2008. His 27-year-old son has done that in each of the past two seasons. And if Inter makes it to the final of the Club World Cup, he'll wind up playing 55 games in 11 months. That doesn't count his 10 appearances for the French national team since last June. 'We were prepared for that at the beginning of the season. It's not like they announced that at the end of the season,' Thuram, who came off the bench early in the second half Tuesday, said of the Club World Cup. 'We knew it was going to be a long season.' But how long is too long? In their ravenous quest for revenue, soccer clubs, leagues and governing bodies have crowded the calendar with invented competitions that have drained both fans' bank accounts and players' energy levels. Advertisement The Club World Cup is a perfect example. Although the tournament has been around since 2000, before this summer it never had more than eight teams and was held at one site during a 10-day break in the European season. This year it's expanded into a 32-team, monthlong competition that will be played in 11 cities spread across a continent. If Inter Milan makes it to next month's final, its players will have just a couple of weeks off before reporting to training camp for the next Serie A season, which opens Aug. 23. With the World Cup also expanding next summer, national team players such as Thuram could play more than 70 games in 44 weeks and more than 120 games over two seasons. That's clearly unsustainable. Read more: LAFC's 10-match unbeaten streak ends in loss to Chelsea at FIFA Club World Cup Advertisement 'A serious dialogue is needed between FIFA, UEFA, leagues, clubs and players to redesign an international calendar that protects the health of players and maintains the quality of games,' said Giuseppe Marotta, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Milan. 'With the introduction of the new Champions League format and the new Club World Cup, the workload on teams and players has clearly increased significantly.' Yet clubs such as Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain (which played 58 games this season) and Manchester City (57 games) are drawn to the extra competitions for the same reason as the organizers who put them on: the money. The Club World Cup, now the largest and most ambitious global club tournament in history, is also the most lucrative, with a prize-money purse of $1 billion. The winner could take home $125 million, more than PSG got for winning the Champions League. But it was forced into a gap in the schedule that really didn't exist before. 'It's undeniable that this event, positioned between two different seasons, is forcing us to do extra work and rethink what the traditional summer periods looks like for a football club,' Marotta said. 'However these competitions also represent a huge opportunity in terms of visibility and revenue, often exceeding that of traditional competitions.' Advertisement The Club World Cup allows teams to face rivals from other continents, expanding their international following and generating additional revenue streams by planting the team's flag in new markets and introducing its players to new fans. 'The goal is to tell the American public who we are and what values have always guided us,' Marotta said. 'It's not about proving how good we are,' he added of the tournament. 'It's about contributing to the development of global football.' To accommodate it, Marotta said, changes will have to be made. For example Italy's Serie A could compact from 20 to 18 teams, the same as in the German Bundesliga and France's Ligue 1. That would mean four fewer league games per year; not a dramatic reduction, but a start. Advertisement Until that happens, Thuram said the players will continue doing what they do for as long as they can do it. 'It's about doing everything every day to prepare your body for these extreme games and extreme competition. Because soccer at the highest level is extreme for the body. It's tough,' he said. 'But we have a lot of coaches, we have chefs, we have everything that is set up for us perfectly.' As for the game, Milan dominated statistically, controlling the ball for more than 55 of the 90 minutes and outshooting Monterrey 15-9. But it couldn't make that advantage count. All the scoring came in a 20-minute span of the first half with the ageless Sergio Ramos putting Monterrey in front with a header in the 25th minute and Lautaro Martinez pulling that back for Milan three minutes before the intermission. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
