Lionel Messi endured a painful return to face his former side as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) cruised to a commanding 4-0 victory over Inter Miami in their FIFA Club World Cup last-16 encounter in Atlanta.
Despite Inter Miami’s unbeaten run in the group stage, they were no match for the reigning European champions, who quickly established their dominance.
The gulf in class became evident early in the game when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sliced through Miami’s defence and set up Bradley Barcola, whose effort forced a save from goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.
The warning signs went unheeded. Just six minutes in, João Neves opened the scoring with a free header from a Vitinha free-kick, capitalising on Inter Miami’s disorganised defending.
The match took a brutal turn just before halftime. Fabián Ruiz intercepted a loose ball high up the pitch, exchanged passes with Barcola, and laid the ball across for Neves to tap in his second of the night — his first-ever brace for PSG.
Things deteriorated further for Javier Mascherano’s team when substitute Tomás Avilés accidentally turned Désiré Doué’s cross into his own net. Shortly after, Achraf Hakimi made it four, pouncing on the rebound from his own shot that had struck the crossbar.
With the outcome effectively settled by halftime, Inter Miami had only pride to salvage. Their first shot on target came over an hour into the game, as Messi’s low strike was comfortably handled by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
PSG eased off in the second half, though Barcola came close to adding a fifth with a deflected effort that landed on the roof of the net. Donnarumma denied Messi a late consolation, diving to keep out the Argentine’s downward header — a chance to score what would have been his seventh goal in the Club World Cup.
Ultimately, PSG’s superiority proved too much, bringing Inter Miami’s CWC journey to an end. The French giants now advance to the quarter-finals, where they’ll remain in Atlanta to face either Flamengo or Bayern Munich on Saturday.
