Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain began their Club World Cup journey with a commanding 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Sunday. The emphatic result signals that Luis Enrique’s side may be the team to beat in this inaugural 32-team tournament.

PSG, fresh off their historic 5-0 Champions League final win over Inter Milan on May 31, controlled the game from start to finish. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a precise strike from the edge of the box, while Vitinha added a second just before halftime after slipping through the Atletico defense.

Atletico nearly equalised in stoppage time of the first half, but Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Antoine Griezmann with a crucial save. Atletico thought they had pulled one back after the break through Julian Alvarez, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up.

Their frustrations mounted when Clement Lenglet was shown a second yellow card in the 78th minute. Moments later, Alexander Sorloth missed an open goal, leaving coach Diego Simeone visibly distraught on the sidelines.

PSG took full advantage of the man advantage. Senny Mayulu scored in the 87th minute, and Lee Kang-in capped the night with a penalty in stoppage time after Robin Le Normand was penalised for handball.

Vitinha, named man of the match, praised his team’s display. “It is difficult with this temperature, but we controlled all of the game,” he told reporters. “The toughest thing in football is maintaining the level, and that’s what I try to do.”

Coach Luis Enrique echoed the sentiment: “Every single player showed their best quality. As a coach, I am happy. We want to continue this way.”

Notably absent for PSG was Ousmane Dembele, out with a reported quadricep injury sustained while on international duty with France. Goncalo Ramos took his place in the only change from the Champions League final lineup. Enrique, dressed casually in shorts and a training shirt, managed his team through the midday heat of 31°C (88°F).

In the day’s earlier Group B match, Bayern Munich humiliated Auckland City 10-0 at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium. Jamal Musiala scored a second-half hat-trick in just 17 minutes on his return from injury, while Thomas Müller, Kingsley Coman, and Michael Olise each bagged a brace.

Despite the fireworks on the pitch, the crowd of 21,152 made headlines by unfurling a banner reading: “10 Years Baur Au Lac – World Football Is More Poorly Governed than Before! Smash FIFA!”—a pointed reference to the 2015 corruption scandal that rocked football’s governing body.

Faridah Abdulkadir

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