PSG Open Club World Cup with a Four-Goal Win, Bayern Hit Ten
Paris Saint-Germain, champions of France and Europe, kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States with a commanding 4–0 victory over Spain’s Atlético Madrid in Group B.
The French capital side dominated the match and sealed the win thanks to goals from Spain’s Fabián Ruiz (19), Portugal’s Vitinha (45+1), and substitutes Senny Mayulu (87) and South Korea’s Kang-in Lee (90+7, from the penalty spot).
In front of 80,619 spectators, Luis Enrique’s side continued their strong run following their first-ever UEFA Champions League title, which they secured with a 5–0 rout of Inter Milan in the final. PSG took the lead after a sequence of passes down the right wing ended with the ball at the feet of Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who set up Ruiz to fire into the net (19).
The lead was doubled just before the break following a counterattack, as Kvaratskhelia exploited space on the left before finding Vitinha, who drove into the box and scored (45+1).
Things went from bad to worse for the Spanish capital club after Frenchman Clément Lenglet was sent off for a second yellow card (77). The European champions capitalized on the numerical advantage as substitute Mayulu added the third, taking advantage of Atlético’s sluggish defense (87), before Lee converted from the spot following a handball by Spain’s Robin Le Normand.
After the match, Vitinha said: “We controlled the game and deserved the win. That’s clear. I’m happy with the team’s performance and the way we prepared and played.”
He added: “We did our job, and now we need to rest and focus on how we can beat Botafogo. That’s our goal—we want to make this a historic season. It already is, but if we can add this new tournament, and win it for the first time, it’ll be even more incredible.”
In the same group, Brazil’s Botafogo defeated Seattle Sounders 2–1 thanks to goals from Júnior Conceição (28) and Igor Jesus (44), while Cristian Roldan scored for the American side (75).
Bayern’s Dominant Win
In Group C, Bayern Munich recorded a crushing 10–0 victory over New Zealand’s Auckland City. The German champions’ goals came from France’s Kingsley Coman (6, 21), fellow countrymen Sacha Boey (18) and Michael Olise (20, 45+3), as well as Thomas Müller (45, 89) and Jamal Musiala (67, 73 pen, 84).
Bayern wasted no time getting on the scoresheet, as Coman headed home from a corner in the 6th minute to register the tournament’s first goal—after the opening match in Group A between Inter Miami and Egypt’s Al Ahly ended goalless, with the latter missing a penalty through Trezeguet.
Bayern quickly doubled their lead through Boey, who fired from inside the box past Auckland’s goalkeeper (18). Olise added a third two minutes later, before Coman notched his second and Bayern’s fourth (21). The Bavarians were 5–0 up before the interval after Müller scored, and Olise netted again in stoppage time to make it 6–0 before the break.
Auckland managed to resist Bayern’s onslaught for part of the second half, but substitute Musiala came off the bench to complete a hat-trick, one of them from the penalty spot.
Müller wrapped up the goal fest with Bayern’s tenth just a minute from time.
Meanwhile, in Group A, Brazil’s Palmeiras and Portugal’s Porto played to a goalless draw.
