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Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the FIFA Club World Cup Final with an emphatic 4-0 victory against Real Madrid.
A quick-fire double from Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembélé saw the French champions go roaring into a 2-0 lead before the 10th minute, before the former grabbed his second of the game in 24th minute. Portuguese forward Gonçalo Ramos bagged the fourth in the 88th minute, putting the rubber stamp on what was another majestic PSG performance.
The Parisian outfit made two changes coming into the game, as Brazilian defender Lucas Beraldo replaced the suspended William Pacho after he received a red card in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich. Luis Enrique also gave Ousmane Dembélé his first start of the tournament, leaving Bradley Barcola on the bench.
Xabi Alonso also had to alter his backline as a result of suspension, as Dean Huijsen missed out after he saw red against Dortmund. Raúl Asencio took the Dutchman’s place, as well as Kylian Mbappe getting his first start of the tournament, entering the front line with Arda Güler moving backwards into midfield and Federico Valverde moving to right-back as Trent Alexander-Arnold was ruled out of the game with a minor knock.
Despite both sides making changes before facing off, PSG started much the better of the two sides forcing Thibaut Courtois into two excellent early saves. After marvellously sending the ball out to the right hand side with one save, Désiré Doué picked it up and sent a low ball into Ousmane Dembélé, who’s close range shot was saved at point blank range by the Belgian stopper before being desperately cleared away by the Madrid defence.
The former Chelsea ‘keeper was left hopeless moments later though as the ball was quickly recovered by the PSG midfield and worked out to Désiré Doué once again on the right hand side. The 20-year-old eased past Fran García, and though his driven ball in only found Asensio, the young Spaniard failed to clear his lines with Ousmane Dembélé was hot on his heels to take the ball off him. The former Barça winger took it around a flailing Courtois, and despite clearing him out in what would have been a certain penalty, Fabian Ruiz was on hand to tuck the ball into the empty net and open the scoring after just six minutes. Though brilliant pressing from Dembélé yet again, it was sloppy from the Madrid defence and certainly a preventable goal that really set to the tone for the afternoon.
Los Blancos almost found the perfect response through Vinicius Jr just a couple of minutes later as the tricky Brazilian worked the ball expertly down the right hand side, before sending an almost inch perfect pass into the feet of Gonzalo García who tried to slide it home but it was just short enough for the PSG defence to sweep up and clear away to prevent the equaliser.
However, it would be Luis Enrique’s side who found the next goal after a lackadaisical moment from Antonio Rüdiger saw the ball nicked from his feet from the ever intense Ousmane Dembélé. The Frenchman used is blistering pace to bare down on Courtois’s goal, before calmly slotting home to double the European champions’s lead.
Les Parisiens kept a firm grasp on the game from here, masterfully dictating possession and dominating all the chances. Achraf Hakimi came close to adding goal number three in the 20th minute, sending a low and powerful effort just wide of Courtois’s right post.
The Moroccan would spark a counter attack in the 24th minute down the right hand with Dembélé to put Madrid against the ropes once more, and this time his end product didn’t let the move down as he flashed the ball across to Fabian Ruiz, who calmly brought it under his control and slammed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner for his second of the game and PSG’s third. It was his 10th goal of the season and his second in the Club World Cup after bagging one in the group stage against Atlético Madrid.
From here, the wonderfully technical PSG midfield controlled the game in the burning New York heat, with Vitinha and Joao Neves keeping the likes of Jude Bellingham, Arda Güler and Aurélien Tchouaméni well out of the game in the midfield for Madrid. The latter was so frustrated from his lack of involvement that he went flying into Achraf Hakimi in the 28th minute, leading the French midfielder to receive the first yellow card of the game. Joao Neves would join the former Monaco man in the book in the second minute of added time at the end of the first half.
Désiré Doué thought he gave his side the perfect second half start in the 48th minute after finishing off another lovely flowing move from the menacing front three again, but his assister Ousmane Dembélé was promplty ruled offside to deny PSG a four goal cushion.
Many subs would be made before they would find it though, with Xabi Alonso introducing the likes of Brahim Diaz, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez throughout the second half. Their major second half change saw Luka Modrić enter the pitch in the white of Real Madrid for the final time in the 64th minute, replacing Jude Bellingham for what was his last appearance for the club before he imminently departs for AC Milan. It was a pitiful final appearance for the Croatian, who had to close his best chapter of his career with an abysmal 4-0 defeat, albeit to the current holders of the Champions League.
Despite Modrić’s introduction, PSG continued to dominate proceedings, strutting the ball around the pitch expertly and creating chances at their will. They would introduce the likes of Gonçalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola, Senny Mayulu, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Kang-In Lee throughout the second half, but it would be the first of those five to put the cherry on top of what was another world class performance when he bagged the fourth in the 88th minute after he received the ball from Bradley Barcola before swivelling and slamming it home from close range.
In his celebration, as has been seen across the world in the last week, the Portuguese forward sat on the floor and dedicated his celebration to former team-mate Diogo Jota. It was a touching tribute to his fellow compatriot, and another truly wonderful homage to Diogo and his brother Andre.
Referee Szymon Marciniak ruled in the glaring heat and the one-sided nature of the scoreline that no added tome was necessary and called an end to the 90 minutes. PSG move onto the final on Sunday where they will face Chelsea, meanwhile Real will turn their attention to their La Liga opener in just over a month’s time against Osasuna.
