Paris Saint-Germain will meet Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday after defeating Real Madrid 4-0 in a semifinal in New Jersey that could, and should, have resulted in an even more humiliating defeat for the LaLiga squad.
UEFA Champions League winners PSG led 3-0 after just 24 minutes, with two goals from Fabián Ruiz and an Ousmane Dembélé strike putting the game beyond Madrid’s weak defence.
However, it took two great saves by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and several poor misses by PSG to keep the scoreline respectable for the 15-time European winners until Gonçalo Ramos netted a deserving fourth for Luis Enrique’s side in the 87th minute.
Kylian Mbappé, who started his first game of the tournament, struggled to make an impression against his previous squad, who are now one win away from adding a world crown to their treble of Champions League, Coupe de France, and Ligue 1 titles from last season.
PSG Reaching Heights Once Reserved for Barcelona
Pep Guardiola’s two-time Champions League-winning Barcelona team is regarded as the best club side in the game’s history. Still, Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain now deserves to be included among the greatest.
Longevity is critical when judging the best, and right now, Barcelona has the advantage. However, make no mistake, this PSG team has all the elements to be considered as excellent as the legendary Barcelona.
Guardiola’s Barcelona had a world-class midfield of Xavi, Sergio Busquets, and Andres Iniesta, and while Lionel Messi’s genius pushed them to new heights, it was the midfield axis that controlled games and made it impossible for opponents to gain the ball.
PSG’s midfield, consisting of Vitinha, João Neves, and Ruiz, who scored twice against Madrid, performed similarly to Barça’s midfield, dominating against Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Arda Güler.
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once remarked that Barcelona’s “passing carousel” beats teams, and PSG does the same.
But here’s the thing about PSG. Barcelona has Messi’s genius, but PSG is a group of brilliant people who play as a team and work far harder than their opponents. At halftime, FIFA statistics revealed that Real Madrid’s average ball recovery time was 45 seconds. PSG’s time was 23 seconds, nearly twice as quick as Real’s.
They have amazing players, but they also work hard, which is why PSG is the finest team in the world, and perhaps the best it has ever seen.
New coach, new season (well, technically the conclusion of the previous season), and the same old troubles. There’s no reason to overcomplicate things.
Although Vinícius Júnior and Mbappé are among the best forwards in the world, playing them together on the pitch against a quality (or even mediocre) side is a significant challenge. They tend to fall into the same positions (regardless of where they start), and neither has the ability (or, you suspect, the desire) to track back and work off the ball.
Against the European champs, you can get by with one player who does not sprint when not in possession.
By deploying a proper center forward (Gonzalo García), putting Vinícius on the opposite flank where he can’t come inside on his favorite foot, and forcing Bellingham and Arda Güler into the No. 8 position, what was previously a long shot becomes a Powerball ticket.
Gonzalo’s run after Vitinha, while Vinícius and Mbappé stood around, gave PSG a clear run into midfield, which appeared particularly stupid going up against possibly the best fullback duo in the world, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes. Once in the midfield, Güler (who, let us not forget, is still learning the position) and Bellingham (who, in his brain, is a No.10, the position he has played the majority of the last two seasons) were overwhelmed by PSG’s balling three of Vitinha, Neves, and Ruiz.
Perhaps Alonso was attempting to make a point: this team is still poorly formed. Or perhaps he viewed this as a pre-season friendly, a chance to experiment.
He has a reputation as a system coach, and it is impossible to understand how these cogs can be assembled into a machine, let alone a system. Especially since you won’t have much time on the training pitch once the season starts. And, unlike Bayer Leverkusen, you’re on the largest stage of all and not omnipotent within the club’s walls.
Dembélé Makes Major Leap in Ballon d’Or Race.
Dembélé entered the Club World Cup as the favorite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or, but there wasn’t much separating the PSG attacker and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. However, Dembélé had the advantage of his platform at the Club World Cup to close the deal, which he undoubtedly accomplished with his performance against Real Madrid.
He increased his tournament goal count to two after capitalizing on a mistake by Antonio Rüdiger and then racing free to coolly strike past goalkeeper Courtois, but Dembélé is about more than just goals.
He also generates — he set up Ruiz for PSG’s opening goal — and stretches teams with his quickness and mobility, and he is a much more complete player than he was during his injury-plagued time with Barcelona.
Dembélé, 28, is at the pinnacle of his talents, and it would be surprising if he did not succeed Manchester City’s Rodri as the Ballon d’Or winner when it is awarded in Paris in September.
PSG coach Luis Enrique replaced Dembélé after 59 minutes, evidently preserving his energies for Sunday’s Club World Cup final against Chelsea. And if PSG wins, Dembélé will be awarded the Ballon d’Or.
Real Madrid’s Puzzling Defensive Lapses
In a parallel reality, Dean Huijsen does not receive a red card for needlessly dragging down Serhou Guirassy with Real Madrid leading Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the sixth minute of injury time. In that parallel universe, he doesn’t get suspended and starts against PSG alongside Rüdiger, with Raúl Asencio shifting to right back and Federico Valverde moving into midfield.
Would it have been sufficient to halt this unplayable PSG? Perhaps not, but it would have been less embarrassing than what we witnessed. And, while the media will pounce on Real Madrid’s defense, remember the papier-mâché midfield they faced.
A Tribute to Modric: One of the Club’s All-Time Greats
So, after 13 years, 597 games, 43 goals, four Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, six Champions League titles, and a slew of other hardware that he probably doesn’t have space for in his trophy cabinet, Luka Modric’s Real Madrid career comes to an end.
It’s perhaps not surprising that it ended in loss. When your final event is a knockout, your last game is likely to be a loss. But going out this way, with this level of shame, must be painful. The fact that he was only on the pitch for 26 minutes plus injured time doesn’t lessen the agony.
A more respectable defeat might have produced the odes and farewells that Modric’s Madrid career merits. Instead, we’ll get an inquest. This is the way of the club and Madridismo. But it will pass. And fans will return to remembering and cherishing perhaps the best midfielder to wear the white shirt since Zinedine Zidane.
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