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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) made a strong start to their Club World Cup journey with a dominant 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sunday.
Fresh from winning the Champions League, PSG showed their strength once again. Even without key players Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, they controlled the game from start to finish under tough weather conditions. The game kicked off under intense heat, but that didn’t stop the French side from putting on a commanding display.
PSG started brightly and took the lead in the 19th minute. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was a constant threat on the left wing and kept Atletico’s defense on edge. He forced a save from goalkeeper Jan Oblak early in the game before Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring with a low, powerful strike from outside the box that left Oblak with no chance.
Atletico’s only real threat in the first half came in stoppage time when Antoine Griezmann got a rare chance, but his shot went straight at PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Donnarumma reacted quickly, launching a counterattack that ended with Vitinha scoring PSG’s second goal. Vitinha was left unmarked and curled in a neat finish to make it 2-0 just before halftime.
The second half saw Atletico try to push forward. They brought on Koke for Samuel Lino to add more energy in midfield. However, PSG kept control and continued to create chances. Kvaratskhelia almost scored again with a curling shot, but Oblak tipped it onto the crossbar.
Atletico thought they had pulled one back in the 57th minute when Julian Alvarez scored, but the goal was ruled out due to a foul by Koke earlier in the move. Things got worse for Atletico when defender Clement Lenglet was shown a second yellow card and sent off. His first card came for a rough challenge, and the second for arguing with the referee over a foul.
With Atletico down to 10 men, PSG took full advantage. Substitute Alexander Sorloth missed a golden chance to score for Atletico, firing over the bar from close range. PSG punished that mistake soon after.
In the 87th minute, Senny Mayulu scored the third goal for PSG. Atletico failed to clear a cross, and Mayulu reacted quickly to turn and fire the ball into the net.
The final goal came in stoppage time. PSG won a penalty after Robin le Normand handled the ball inside the box. Kang-In Lee stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to seal the 4-0 win.
After the match, PSG coach Luis Enrique praised his team, saying, “We wanted to make history this season, and this is another step. The club, the players, and the fans are all hungry to win, and we’ll keep pushing.”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone admitted it was a tough loss. “The team kept fighting, but 4-0 is a heavy score. Now we must focus on getting good results in the remaining games.”
The win puts PSG in a strong position as they aim to add the Club World Cup title to their growing list of achievements.