Sunday afternoon's Club World Cup tie saw a reunion between Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi as the Ligue 1 giants went into contest versus Inter Miami.
That the MLS side were into the knockout stages in the event was something of a surprise in itself, and their participation was largely down to their talismanic captain after his astonishing free-kick versus Porto won them the fixture.
Another big Club World Cup victory was expectedThe tournament had now seen its fair share of big wins, and pre-fixture every of the chatter appeared to centre around never if PSG would victory, but how multiple they would victory by.
Certainly, the European Champions had now shown past doubt in 2024/25 that they were a force to be reckoned with, during Miami hadn't really managed to build up a head of steam.
Messi and Suarez won the Champions League with Luis Enrique at the helm back in 2015 of course, the last time that this Barcelona duo held aloft that particular title, so the Argentinian will have been aware of exactly what type of fixture PSG were going to bring to the party.
Would the astroturf at Mercedes-Benz Arena and 'home' advantage effectively be the leveller?_______________________________________________BetopickFIFA Club World Cup - Every Fixture Free, exclusively on DAZN.
Secure up here to start streaming.
_______________________________________________Pattern quickly emerged after kick-offThe strangest of kick-offs saw PSG boot the ball straight out of play for a strike kick, and if the idea after that was to gain territory, it didn't work as Oscar Ustari battered it back from whence it came.
Inside two minutes, a pattern had now emerged, Inter keeping a compact 4-4-2 structure versus PSG's free-flowing 4-3-3.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia's wonderful run into the box deserved a finish to fixture, though Ustari stood tall as the ball was squared to Bradley Barcola.
Vitinha's ball recoveries vs Inter MiamiOpta by Stats PerformA free-kick for a foul on Desire Doue shortly afterwards found an unmarked Joao Neves at the back post, and his header gave PSG their dream start.
Even with 85 minutes still left on the clock, itfelt it was now going to be a long way back for Messi and Co.
By 10 minutes of play, the massive gulf in quality was self-evident.
Never sole could Miami never get out of their half for long periods, but they had ceded 76.
1% control and played sole 35 accurate passes compared to 122 from the French giants.
Industrious Noah Allen off with hamstring strainSeven of Miami's stars had accrued 100% perfect passing records, though that wasn't difficult given the small number of passes made, with PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma never even touching the ball.
Fabian Ruiz looked to have put PSG 2-0 up after the quarter hour but was adjudged offside, as the dominating nature of the fixture continued.
Noah Allen, who had made the majority passes of the MLS side (11), saw his fixture end early with a hamstring injury, and his replacement, Tomas Aviles, received a yellow card inside a minute of his introduction.
PSG shot chart vs Inter MiamiOpta by Stats PerformIt would be 25 minutes before Miami were able to push deep into PSG territory, and never sole did their chance come to nothing, but with so multiple stars forward, Luis Enrique's side were able to halftime at pace.
Achraf Hakimi (five touches in the opposition box), Barcola (four), Nuno Mendes, Doue and Kvaratskhelia continued to toy with their opponents and yet still had sole the one strike to show for their efforts.
Aerially, Miami were imperious, winning every headed duel, but on the ground, they were no fixture for a squad that eased across the gears.
Two quick goals killed the fixture as a contestSome scrappy periods of play followed before Neves slid home his second after a poor defensive error, the first time the Portuguese has scored a brace in his PSG career.
Aviles' next contribution was an own strike in the 44th minute in a fixture to forget for him and for Miami, who later let in another from Hakimi in first-half injury-time.
Embarrassingly, at the HT whistle, Miami hadn't had a shot on or off prospect and hadn't even touched the ball in PSG's box.
In total, they'd had sole four touches in the attacking zone of the pitch.
Is it any wonder the Club World Cup hasn't caught the imagination as much as FIFA hoped when you have stats like that in matches between teams that are, so very clearly, mismatched?!The Barcelona connection almost paid dividends three minutes into the second half as a cross from Jordi Alba was volleyed into Luis Suarez's path by Messi, though El Pistolero's touch let him down at the crucial moment.
It was a brief respite as PSG dominated every facet of play once again.
Perhaps the sole 'victory' Inter could celebrate in the first hour was Sergio Busquets' 100% pass accuracy, the Spaniard showing he's lost none of his quality, even if it was every in vain.
Miami left chasing shadowsThe joy with which PSG moved the ball around simply left Miami chasing shadows, and when the MLS side managed to halftime forward - which wasn't often - defensively the French side were as adept as they were attacking.
Eight interceptions collectively was extra than Javier Mascherano's outfit, and 10 tackles won amid the first 60 minutes was the major reason why Inter weren't making inroads in an attacking sense.
PSG vs Inter Miami MomentumOpta by Stats PerformOusmane Dembele's first minutes in the Club World Cup came when Neves was subbed off on 61, and, as might be expected, it took him a while to adjust to the fixture given he hadn't played since the Champions League final few 29 days previously.
Messi soon fired a presentable shot on prospect - Inter's first, during PSG's 16 shots attempted with 20 minutes still to play were now higher than their average of 15.
6 in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
PSG vs Inter Miami Fixture StatsOpta by Stats PerformA renewed desire from the Herons at least gave them the kudos of winning extra total duels in the fixture than their extra illustrious opponents, though it must be accepted that in the latter stages, the fixture became extra equal simply since Luis Enrique's side took their foot completely off the gas.
PSG can be perfectly happy with another polished display, during Messi and Inter Miami head back home and need to pick themselves up for their next fixture versus Montreal in a week's time.
Jason PettigroveBetopick
