1. Pundits are questioning how Luis Enrique's PSG will approach the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup after winning every title this season.
The French team quickly responded with an intensity similar to the Champions League final, where they beat Inter Milan 5-0.
PSG is superior in every aspect. Photo: Imago
PSG completely controlled the game and opportunities against an Atletico Madrid weakened in every aspect.
Luis Enrique's men had four bright moments, scoring four goals, while still conserving energy for a summer tournament that has yet to take on the importance FIFA hoped for.
After a lackluster opening match, the tournament entered a more intense phase with bright and dark shades.
A tournament where the audience saw no competition when Bayern Munich "destroyed" Auckland City - the only amateur opponent from New Zealand.
After Bayern's victory, the two European giants had to fight for 3 points at noon when the sun was directly overhead.
The playing conditions were unusual: 28 degrees Celsius and nearly 80% humidity on the parched turf of the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
2. Luis Enrique fielded a European champion squad, missing only the yet-to-recover Ousmane Dembele. In came Goncalo Ramos – a striker who has been inconsistent.
Meanwhile, Simeone surprised everyone by bringing Antoine Griezmann into the starting lineup – as a gift for the red and white striped legend in the country that could be his next destination.
Vitinha had an excellent match. Photo: EFE
The match started slowly, without risk. Both teams followed clear roles: PSG dominated possession while Atletico sat deep, setting up two lines of four, with Griezmann and Julian Alvarez applying light pressure from above.
Two errors from Lino led to the first dangerous chance, and then the opening goal.
Hakimi linked up centrally with Kvaratskhelia, who held the ball well and passed it back to Fabian Ruiz on the edge of the box. The Spanish midfielder fired a left-footed shot into the bottom corner, beating Jan Oblak.
The goal did not change the outcome of the match. It could have been Simeone's risk-free plan, or it could have been Atletico's players' helplessness in the midday sun and on an injury-prone turf.
Griezmann and Julian Alvarez barely touched the ball, while the central defenders Lenglet and Le Normand were completely outpaced by the speed of PSG's attack.
PSG were dominant even when Desire Doue – the best player of the Champions League final – underperformed.
In the first 45 official minutes, the ball possession rate was 77%-16% in favor of PSG (the remaining 7% were disputes), the Paris team had 12 attacks and not a single shot was taken by Atletico.
3. Just entering the first seconds of extra time in the first half, Atletico tried to push forward with a rare successful ball steal and Griezmann had a chance to finish - but it was only a weak shot, going right into Donnarumma's hands.
In the next phase, the Italian goalkeeper launched a counter-attack for Fabian, the ball reached Kvaratskhelia and he passed to Vitinha: the Portuguese midfielder sprinted more than 20 meters without anyone stopping him and coolly finished past Oblak.
Atletico left the pitch at half-time looking dazed. They could have conceded more based on their performance.
Vitinha celebrates with Lee Kang In. Photo: EFE
Right at the beginning of the second half, Kvaratskhelia almost scored with his signature right-footed shot after moving diagonally into the middle without being marked, but Oblak managed to fly and push the ball against the crossbar.
Earlier, when he returned to the field, Simeone responded by bringing in veteran Koke to replace Lino. He added more solidity to the midfield while the team needed a breakthrough.
It was Koke who was the reason Atletico lost the goal by fouling Doue, in the situation before Alvarez beat Donnarumma. The referee checked VAR and canceled the goal.
The subsequent adjustments made by “El Cholo” were all in vain. Atleti still failed to make a breakthrough.
PSG, on the other hand, continued to threaten when Oblak made a wrong throw with Mayulu closing in. The PSG youngster did not score, but he did get Lenglet sent off for a foul.
In a 10-man game, Sorloth missed Atletico's best chance in incredible fashion. Then came the relentless torture from PSG: Mayulu scored from a Griezmann challenge and Lee Kang In sealed the 4-0 win from the penalty spot.
After dominating Europe, PSG is ready to conquer the FIFA Club World Cup with a prize fund of 1 billion USD.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/psg-4-0-atletico-quyen-luc-nha-vua-cup-c1-2411872.html
Comment (0)