Club World Cup: Real Madrid no chance against brilliant PSG

(sda) In the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the New York Jets and Giants usually play, the Champions League record winners, led by superstar Kylian Mbappé, were literally dwarfed. After just ten minutes and hair-raising errors by Raul Asencio and Antonio Rüdiger, the game was decided.

Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembélé scored to make it 1-0 and 2-0 for Paris Saint-Germain. Spanish international Ruiz added a second goal in the 24th minute. A 3-0 defeat was still a comfortable result for Real Madrid, with their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois the best man on the pitch.

The halftime statistics spoke volumes: less than 25 percent possession for Real, no shots on goal, completely overwhelmed by the constantly rotating and fussy Parisians. New coach Xabi Alonso still has a lot of work to do in Madrid. Mbappé, who is still in a court battle with his former club PSG over millions of euros, also endured a bitter afternoon.

In the second half, veteran Luka Modric also made his final appearance with Real Madrid, whom he led to six Champions League titles. This didn't change the result, as PSG even increased their lead to 4-0 shortly before the end.

Paris Saint-Germain is currently the benchmark in European (and therefore world) football and will be the clear favorite against Chelsea on Sunday evening. The French club suffered a surprise defeat to Botafogo in the group stage, but since then, they have scored 11 goals and conceded 0 goals in four matches on their way to the final of the newly expanded FIFA competition.