Paris Saint-Germain dominantly defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday evening.
The 2025 Champions League winners dominated the opening stages of the game, and in the 19th minute, they took the lead thanks to a fantastic strike from outside the box from Fabian Ruiz. PSG were dominant in possession of the ball and their dominance and clean play played a part in their first goal as they moved it around the box nicely, eventually getting the ball laid off to Ruiz, who fired a powerful strike low and straight into the bottom corner to give his side an early deserved 1-0 lead.
Shortly after the goal, Giuliano Simeone thought he found his way through on goal, but he was caught up by Nuno Mendes. Simeone was brought down, and for a moment it seemed like the referee was going to show a card to Mendes, however, he opted not to, somewhat controversially, potentially letting the Portuguese left back off.
Although PSG continued to be the much better team in possession of the ball, Atletico had their chances to break forward, and they did on a few occasions, most notably when Antoine Griezmann fired a shot straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma from close range. The Frenchman may have been crowded, but he will feel like he should've done more to test the goalkeeper.
Following Griezmann's tame effort at Donnarumma, PSG produced one of their signature deadly counter-attacks, and they went straight up to the other end of the pitch and doubled their lead. Vitinha strode all the way through the midfield to the ball to the point where he was one-on-one with Oblak, and he slotted a tidy finish into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Vitinha's goal was the last action of the first half, and PSG went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
Just over four minutes into the second half, PSG showed that they weren't satisfied with their two-goal lead and were continuing to push for more goals. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia rattled the crossbar after cutting inside on his right foot in the 49th minute, and although his effort didn't go in, it was a positive sign for the French giants early in the second half.
Following their positive start to the second half, it looked like PSG were going to carry on their dominance, however, in the 57th minute, Atletico had the ball in the back of the net, and it was a tidy finish by Julian Alvarez. Despite thinking they had started their comeback, Atletico's goal was ruled out, as upon review, Koke fouled Desire Doue, and the referee disallowed the goal and restarted the match at 2-0 to PSG.
In the 78th minute, Atletico centre-back Clement Lenglet was sent off after being shown a second yellow card. Lenglet's second yellow came quite a while after he actually committed the foul, as the referee seemed not to realise that he was already on a yellow card. Despite not initially realising, the referee went back and sent the French defender off.
In the 82nd minute, the Spanish side had a golden opportunity to get a goal back, but Alexander Sorloth missed an absolute sitter. He was picked out perfectly with a low cross in the box, and although he was just a few yards away from the goal line, the big Norwegian skied the ball, squandering probably the easiest chance at goal he'll get in the whole tournament.
Paris Saint-Germain fully ended the chances of an Atletico Madrid comeback in the 87th minute as Senny Mayulu scored to give them a 3-0 lead. The Atletico players looked like they were fatiguing, and this showed for this goal as they showed no real desire to win the ball back, and it eventually fell to the youngster, who scored for PSG in the Champions League final, and he fired his shot right into the bottom corner.
In the 97th minute, it went from bad to worse for Madrid as PSG were given a penalty as Robin Le Normand handled the ball in the penalty area. Kang-In Lee stepped up to take the penalty, and the South Korean calmly slotted it past Oblak into the corner.
Lee's penalty was the last action of the match and the match ended 4-0 to PSG.
Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Atletico Madrid - Match Statistics
Paris Saint-Germain
74
16
11
4
1
2
0
Match Highlights
Paris Saint-Germain Player Ratings
PSG players during a drinks break in the Club World Cup
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6.5/10
Didn't really have any significant saves to make as his defence protected him well.
RB: Achraf Hakimi - 7.5/10
Put in some very good crosses which threatened the Atletico defence. Hakimi caused lots of problems, particularly up against Galan, with his pace and directness.
CB: Marquinhos - 7/10
Good when playing the ball out from the back, and managed to make a few good blocks and clearances to protect Donnarumma.
CB: Willian Pacho - 7.5/10
Just like his centre-back partner, Marquinhos, Pacho didn't put a foot wrong when playing the ball out from the back and made some key clearances.
LB: Nuno Mendes - 8/10
Had superb energy up and down the left flank all throughout the match as he always does, but also was one of PSG's most creative players as he put in a lot of really good crosses and caused real problems with his pace and physicality.
CM: Vitinha - 8.5/10
Incredibly tidy on the ball and showcased a wide variety of passing. Vitinha put a cherry on top of his excellent performance by scoring a tidy goal late in the first half.
CM: Joao Neves - 7/10
Had really good energy in the midfield and was very tidy and safe in possession of the ball. While the 20-year-old didn't set the world alight, he put in a solid showing.
CM: Fabian Ruiz - 8.5/10
Superb in possession of the ball and put his absolute all into the match, contributing lots both offensively and defensively. The Spaniard scored an excellent, powerful goal in the first half, which Jan Oblak had no chance of saving.
RW: Desire Doue - 7.5/10
Caused real problems for Atletico's defence with his tidy dribbling and pace. Although Doue couldn't get a goal contribution, he still had a very bright showing.
ST: Goncalo Ramos - 6/10
Quite isolated up front on his own and didn't see anywhere near as much of the ball as Doue and Kvaratskhelia, who joined him in PSG's front line.
LW: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - 8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
Managed to get two assists to his name and looked extremely threatening pretty much every time he opted to drive forward at the Atletico defence.
SUB: Senny Mayulu - 8/10
Had a really bright showing off the bench and managed to score a nice goal to secure his side the win.
SUB: Warren Zaire-Emery - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Kang-In Lee - 7.5/10
Calmly slotted away a penalty to secure his side the 4-0 victory.
SUB: Lucas Hernandez - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Ibrahim Mbaye - 7/10
Provided an assist off the bench and looked bright during his 15 minutes on the pitch.
Atletico Madrid Player Ratings
Antoine Griezmann in action for Atletico Madrid during the Club World Cup
GK: Jan Oblak - 5.5/10
Made a few decent saves but couldn't really do anything to stop PSG's goals as they were all very well taken.
RB: Marcos Llorente - 6.5/10
Worked hard and made several very good tackles, but he looked fatigued late into the game, and this hurt his side defensively.
CB: Robin Le Normand - 5.10
Made a few good clearances, but looked very uncomfortable when PSG were driving forward with their pace, power and trickery. The Spaniard handled the ball and gave away a penalty late in the match.
CB: Clement Lenglet - 5/10
Just like Le Normand, Lenglet made a few good clearances and put in a solid defensive showing despite the scoreline. The Frenchman was unfortunately sent off in the 78th minute for his second yellow card.
LB: Javi Galan - 5/10
Really struggled when defending up against Doue. Galan didn't necessarily make any mistakes or have any terrible moments, he was just sloppy with the ball and looked shaky defensively.
LM: Samuel Dias Lino - 6/10
Worked hard up and down the left flank but couldn't really contribute anything significant. The Brazilian was substituted at half-time.
CM: Pablo Barrios - 6/10
Just like his midfield partner, De Paul, Barrios had good energy and pressed well, but he didn't really contribute anything significant either offensively or defensively.
CM: Rodrigo De Paul - 6/10
Had lots of energy and worked hard in the middle of the park, but couldn't really contribute anything significant.
RM: Giuliano Simeone - 6/10
Didn't really contribute anything to the game other than energy and a decent assist, which ended up getting disallowed.
ST: Antoine Griezmann - 5.5/10
Had some bright moments, but for the most part, he was dealt with quite easily by the PSG defenders.
ST: Julian Alvarez - 5.5/10
Went close to scoring early in the match with a free kick, but didn't contribute anything else significant throughout the match.
SUB: Koke - 6/10
He was at fault for Atletico's goal being ruled out as he fouled Doue in the build-up to it. Koke didn't do much after coming on as he didn't see much of the ball.
SUB: Reinildo - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Angel Correa - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Conor Gallagher - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Alexander Sorloth - 5/10
Missed an absolute sitter which could've got his side back into the match.
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