Lionel Messi’s Club World Cup ended with a crushing PSG victory against Inter Miami in Atlanta, where the MLS side were completely outclassed by the European champions.
The unmarked Joao Neves headed PSG in front from a free kick after six minutes, and while Miami resisted for around 30 minutes, Joao Neves (39 minutes) and Achraf Hakimi (45+3mins) scored before the break, either side of substitute Tomas Aviles deflecting the ball into his own net (44mins).
Messi has been central to Miami’s growth and FIFA’s marketing of the tournament. Miami had their first shot of the game on 50 minutes, their first shot on target about 10 minutes later, their best chance when Messi’s header was saved, and a good chance that a toiling Luis Suarez squandered, but in truth, the game was long over by then.
In the first half, Miami completed 25 passes in the opposition half, while PSG managed 257 in a show of total dominance, and while Messi led a series of attacks in the second half, there was only pride left to play for.
PSG will now play the winners of Flamengo vs Bayern Munich, who play this evening in Miami.
PSG scored their first goal six minutes into the game and then ran away for a 4-0 lead at half-time.
He was embarrassed by his former club and a former manager, Luis Enrique. The types of goals that PSG scored were similar to those that Messi tapped in during his glory years with Barcelona. It was a flashback to the glitzy football Messi used to be a part of.
In the second half, with the game over, he showed flashes of his lasting quality, but it was a game he will not want to recall.
Messi still had moments of class, but the game was done in the first half
What makes PSG so good?
All of PSG’s greatest hits this season were on show at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with their intensity on and off the ball being too much for most sides to handle, let alone an Inter Miami side who just could not handle the physical demands.
Neves’ back-post header kicked off the scoring, but some simple opposition analysis would show you that this is a common approach when PSG have wide free kicks.
The goal Neves scored against Arsenal in the Champions League is a good example. Hakimi got the fourth before half-time after making an inside run from right-back to crash the box. As a reference, see goals against Aston Villa or Inter Milan in European competition.
This was PSG at their purring best, slowing the game down at will, with their patient possession dictated by their midfield technicians. But when the situation allows it, their speed in transition can devastate any side in world football. At times, they feel like bullies in the playground, knowing they can beat up their opposition, but often toying with them to prolong the pain and draw out their dominance in a performative manner.
They have been a joy to watch all season. Knowing what they will do is one thing, stopping them is another task altogether.
This was never going to be easy for Miami. Their form this season has been middling at best, winning just half of their 16 MLS matches, though beating Porto in the Club World Cup group stage was commendable. Add in that they were up against the champions of Europe with excellent squad depth — as evidenced by Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in all being on the bench at kick-off — and catastrophe was a possibility, even if Miami were at their best.
That being the case, Javier Mascherano’s setup was questionable. A 4-4-2 shape to quell PSG was never going to be sufficient given how frequently their full-backs join the front line, instantly giving them a man advantage. Add in the late runs from PSG’s excellent midfield trio and Miami were repeatedly overwhelmed.
Miami made it difficult for themselves with their on-pitch execution, too. Right-back Marcelo Weigandt, who has struggled all season, received little support from Tadeo Allende in dealing with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes. Bradley Barcola and Hakimi ran rings around Jordi Alba, who had to double up as Miami’s only real outlet from defence, on the other flank. The gaps between each of Miami’s three lines were far too vast and did them no favours in attack or defence, with Suarez and Messi isolated and easily cut off from any scraps of service Miami could piece together.
To cap it off, PSG’s three-goal burst to end the half began after Sergio Busquets’ trademark drag-back following a Miami free kick in their own half was seized upon by Fabian Ruiz, who then set up Neves. An own-goal followed before Hakimi seized on more ball-watching and disorganised defending to make it 4-0.
A decade ago, Busquets’ signature pull-back and roll with the sole of his foot was a highlight that football fans stood and applauded. But in 2025, at the age of 36, the former Barcelona holding midfielder doesn’t have the same speed or spatial awareness to fool elite opposition.
Busquets put his face in his hands in shame. The crowd murmured after having witnessed one of football’s great midfielders humiliated by a free-flowing PSG attack. Busquets had suffered against Al Ahly in Miami’s first game, too, but on Sunday, it became clear that the World Cup winner, who has not signed an extension with Miami to date, has become a liability for an already limited side.
Busquets’ player dashboard shows how little impact he made on the game
Suarez’s Club World Cup was impressive at times. His goal against Palmerias, a thunderous strike with his weaker left foot, was vintage. But while Suarez proved that he can still finish clinically, his body doesn’t allow him to do much else. Against PSG, his touch was off. He was too slow to threaten the opposition. And his patience with the inexperienced team-mates around him was evident.
Like Messi, Suarez’s shoulders were shrugged for most of the match. Yet unlike his good friend, Suarez voiced his displeasure with his team’s flaws vociferously. No one was safe from a talk-down. A hurried pass resulted in a Suarez reprimand. When Telasco Segovia failed to close down PSG full-back Hakimi, Suarez threw his arms in the air and pointed furiously at the space that Telasco should have covered.
Eventually, Suarez was cautioned with a yellow card for taking his frustrations out on Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio. It was a disheartening performance for Miami and a maddening one for the great Uruguayan striker.
Source: New York Times
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