French champion Paris Saint-Germain, PSG, defeated Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 4-0 on Sunday to eliminate them from the Club World Cup Round of 16.
In their last four games, PSG had kept three clean sheets.
In front of over 65,000 spectators at Atlanta’s Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Messi, who played at PSG for two seasons
from 2021 to 2023, witnessed his old team score early and frequently in the first half.
PSG midfielder João Neves got things started with a goal in the sixth minute.
The 20-year-old then scores again in the 39th minute as Inter Miami got careless deep in their own half. It was Neves’ first brace of his career.
Five minutes later, an own goal by Inter Miami defender Tomas Aviles, who was subbed into the match in the 19th minute, gave the opposing team a commanding 3-0 lead.
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What Happened To Messi In The 4-0 PSG Defeat?
But the Champions League winners weren’t done as PSG defender Achraf Hakimi scored just moments later in stoppage time.
“We (had) a very good game. Even when we were winning four-nil, we didn’t stop. We keep on playing our game and I think it was a positive day for us,” Neves said after the match.
“It’s the first time I scored two in one game, so I’m very happy but I’m happier for the win.’
Meanwhile, recall that the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC were eliminated from the competition, leaving Miami,
who had just three shots on goal against PSG, as the only Major League Soccer team to advance to the knockout stages.
The Miami team’s previous coach Enrique, who guided them to a record treble at Barcelona in 2015,
faced off against Messi, Luis Suárez, head coach Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Albi.
“We were working hard. We were playing well during this tournament,” Mascherano said.
“Also we know that today was going to be very, very difficult because they are probably the best team in the world.”
Next up for PSG is a quarterfinal matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday
against either Bundesliga champion FC Bayern Munich or Brazilian team CR Flamengo.
Watch highlights from the match HERE