Paris Saint Germain ends Inter Miami’s run in Round of 16
By Official Florida FC
European champion Paris Saint Germain humbled Inter Miami in the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Paris Saint Germain eliminated the Herons 4-0 in a match that could have got out of hand.
PSG used a five-minute flurry to end the competitive portion of the contest. The French side scored three goals just before halftime to take a manageable game into one without doubt.
The onslaught arrived when Sergio Busquets lost possession about 30 yards from goal. The play illustrated the quality and intensity of PSG’s press. It also highlighted that Father Time is undefeated.
Sergio Busquets getting dispossessed in a match that matters? In his own half? When was the last time anyone can recall that?
It happened on Sunday and it led to João Neves’ second goal of the afternoon.
The things that Inter Miami gets away with against Major League Soccer competition – leaving people unattended at the back post; losing possession at the base of midfield as well as gaps between midfield and defense – were all exploited by PSG’s pace, power and precision.
Inter Miami was the only MLS team to advance to the knockout stage of the Club World Cup. LAFC and the Seattle Sounders combined to lose five out of six matches. Seattle lost to PSG in the group stage in a match that needed a deflection for the Parisians to open the scoring.
Nevertheless, PSG has humbled and humiliated teams that are younger and hungrier than Inter Miami. Internationale may not be younger than the Florida facsimile, but they lost by five goals to this Paris San Germain team a month ago in the UEFA Champions League final.
For the Herons, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are examples that form is temporary and class is permanent. Neither one of them has the legs to press PSG or track back when a midfielder with a less delicate first touch loses the ball.
Messi forced PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into a second half save with a header. Messi also found Suarez at the back post for a chip, but the Uruguayan legend’s touch momentarily deserted him before he could trouble Donnarumma.
“We achieved our objective. I’m proud of the players for the tournament they had; I think we lived up to expectations,” head coach Javier Mascherano told the club’s website afterward.
Mascherano told DAZN Sports on the pitch after the match that Inter Miami worked hard and played well during the Club World Cup, but noted PSG is “probably the best team in the world.”
In soccer there are levels to things. There is no shame in a Major League Soccer team losing by four goals to the European champion.
Sunday’s match highlighted the investment required for Major League Soccer to be competitive with the best leagues in the world. Maybe that day arrives with enhanced player development or the loosening of the league’s financial restrictions.
For now, followers of the longest-surviving American professional men’s soccer league must live with the results from the Club World Cup and hope opportunities like Sunday’s arise again.
