Club World Cup: PSG loses to Chelsea in the final

Paris Saint-Germain ended their season frustrated by the resounding defeat on Sunday, July 13th against Chelsea in the Club World Cup final (3-0), one step away from a historic quintuple, but a short break should allow them to savor the progress made.

Sunday's scenario was not predicted by many people, and probably even less so by the Parisian players, full of confidence and pride after the crazy trajectory of their season, and the quadruple of titles won (Champions League, French championship, French Cup, Champions Trophy).

PSG were the clear favorites in this final, especially after humiliating Atlético and Real Madrid (4-0) and having managed to resist 9 against 11 against Bayern (2-0), while Chelsea benefited from an open table with no other European team from the round of 16 onwards other than an average Benfica Lisbon.

But on Sunday, the Londoners immediately dictated the terms of the match, as their coach Enzo Maresca explained: "We won this match in the first 10 minutes (...) The message was 'Make them understand that we are here to win and not to be extras', that set the tone."

And the Italian confided: "We put Malo Gusto on the PSG left flank to overload him and allow for a split." It was Parisian full-back Nuno Mendes, often overwhelmed, who paid the bill.

A taste of what awaits the Parisians next season: being the team to beat after winning the Champions League will mean specific plans concocted by their opponents.

Trailing 3-0 at halftime after Cole Palmer scored a brace in eight minutes, some Parisians seemed stunned at the final whistle, like Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, and Senny Mayulu, who were lying on the pitch. Others, like goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and even manager Luis Enrique, were aggressive at the final whistle, getting involved in jostling with the Blues. Joao Neves, for his part, preferred to sprint to the dressing room after his late dismissal, clearly eager to move on.

PSG didn't play this Club World Cup by halves, especially since the financial stakes were far from trivial: the club is leaving with earnings of nearly €100 million after a month of competition. On the sporting front, Paris has demonstrated its ambition to further cement its dominance over other European teams, a desire that has been partially fulfilled but which this stinging defeat frustrated. The mental and physical energy left on the pitch is likely to weigh on the start of next season.

"We're all disappointed to have let this title slip away, but there's still an incredible feeling in our heads," insisted the Brazilian. "It's good for us for next season, to stay humble," argued club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.

The Club World Cup, although rarer since it is held every four years, cannot overshadow the resounding victory against Inter Milan (5-0) in the Champions League final. The Champions League will remain, for a long time to come, a more prestigious and more difficult competition to win, spread out over the season with two-legged matches starting in the round of 16.

Luis Enrique, who had managed to motivate his troops for this World Cup, wanted to put the result of the final into perspective to refocus the group on the essentials: "We have to know how to savor (the Champions League title), it will be important ." But also "enjoy the holidays, short, very short," he emphasized. Because PSG plays the European Super Cup against Tottenham from August 13. The resumption of training should take place around August 4.