Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain crushed fellow European heavyweight Atletico Madrid 4-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sunday to get its Club World Cup campaign off to a winning start.
PSG landed the first blow in the Group B clash when Fabian Ruiz fired home from a distance in the 19th minute, as it showed no signs of rust in its first match since trouncing Inter Milan 5-0 to win its first Champions League title last month.
PSG doubled its advantage just before half-time when an Antoine Griezmann miss led to a counter-attack that ended with Vitinha firing home under sunny skies in Southern California.
The LaLiga side appeared to have pulled one back when Julian Alvarez found the net in the 57th minute but it was overturned after a VAR review determined Koke had fouled Desire Doue in the lead-up to the strike, with Atletico coach Diego Simeone sarcastically applauding the decision from the sideline.
The Spanish side’s nightmare continued when defender Clement Lenglet was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, and Alexander Sorloth inexplicably missed what should have been a tap-in, instead sending it over the bar.
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Substitute Senny Mayulu added a third goal for PSG in the 87th minute to end any hopes of an Atletico comeback, while Lee Kang-in fired home a stoppage-time penalty to round off the scoring.
PSG will be back at the Rose Bowl on Thursday to face Brazilian team Botafogo while Atletico will travel north to Seattle to take on MLS side the Seattle Sounders.
“The hardest thing to do in football is to maintain the level, not just going high and low,” Vitinha, who was named man of the match, said.
“That’s what I tried to do. Very good performance by the team and a very good start to this competition.”
PSG was without Frenchman and Ballon d’Or favourite Ousmane Dembele, who suffered an injury while playing for France in the UEFA Nations League earlier this month, but the side hardly needed him on Sunday.
It had 74 per cent possession and 11 shots on target compared to Atletico Madrid’s one.
The historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena was rocking thanks to the 80,000 fans who turned out amid the hot midday sun one year before the U.S. will co-host the World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.
“It was a different environment, but it feels good to see so many people in the USA here to watch soccer, or to watch football, as I say,” Vitinha added.
