Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) cruised into the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday with a dominant 4-0 victory over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, ruthlessly exposing the gulf in quality between the European champions and the MLS side.
Despite hopes that Messi might inspire an upset against his former club, Luis Enrique’s side overwhelmed Inter Miami in Atlanta, showing no mercy to a team packed with former stars now past their prime.
João Neves struck twice for PSG, while Achraf Hakimi added a fourth following a Tomas Avilés own goal in a blistering first-half performance. Though Messi and fellow ex-Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba had steered Miami to the last 16, they were outclassed over 90 minutes.
“We had to play a serious game. The competition is starting, and I think we played well,” PSG winger Ousmane Dembélé said after making his return from injury.
Attracting a 66,000-strong crowd largely clad in Inter Miami pink or Argentina shirts, the match was billed as a showcase for Messi. But it quickly became clear the spotlight would belong to PSG’s midfield dominance and attacking verve.
After Marcelo Weigandt clumsily brought down Désiré Doué, Vitinha delivered a pinpoint free kick that found an unmarked Neves at the far post for the opening goal in six minutes.
PSG doubled their lead on 39 minutes when Busquets lost possession near his box, allowing Fabian Ruiz to capitalise and tee up Neves for a simple finish. Just minutes later, Avilés turned a Doué cross into his net, and Hakimi added the fourth on the rebound after his initial effort came off the bar.
Frustration briefly boiled over for Messi, who lashed out at Vitinha amid PSG’s swaggering dominance. Yet the Argentine continued to fight, producing a delightful chipped pass to Suárez early in the second half, only for the Uruguayan to spurn the chance.
Messi later forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a save with a low shot and narrowly missed from a free kick after being fouled near the box. However, there was to be no repeat of the famous 2017 ‘remontada’ that Luis Enrique oversaw when Barcelona came back from four goals down against PSG.
“We exceeded expectations,” Jordi Alba reflected post-match. “We were the best team in our group. In the second half, especially, we controlled the game more and caused PSG more problems.”
PSG now advance to face either Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Atlanta.
