EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabián Ruiz scored twice in a devastating first-half display as the French champions demolished Real Madrid and former PSG star Kylian Mbappé 4-0 on Wednesday to book their place in the Club World Cup final against Chelsea.
Two defensive errors handed PSG their opening goals within nine minutes at MetLife Stadium.
Raúl Asencio‘s poor control in the sixth minute gifted Ousmane Dembélé possession and his first effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois before the rebound was picked up by Ruiz who scored into an empty net.
Antonio Rüdiger‘s wayward pass three minutes later allowed Dembélé to burst unmarked into the box before firing a tidy finish past Courtois.
Ruiz struck again in the 24th minute after Achraf Hakimi made a great run down the right and the Spaniard held off defender Asencio with a feint before finishing perfectly from close range.
Substitute GONÇALO RAMOS completed the rout for European champions PSG three minutes from time, punishing a feeble Real Madrid side that failed to pose any attacking threat.
“It was an incredible match, brilliant win,” player of the match Ruiz told DAZN. “Even under scorching heat, such difficult conditions to play in midday, the team responded really well and it’s an achievement to be proud of.
“We made a perfect game and beat a top-level rival like Real Madrid in a great way. It’s job well done.”
Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso’s tactical gamble backfired spectacularly.
Missing suspended defender Dean Huijsen and injured Trent Alexander-ArnoldAlonso abandoned the five-man defense that had served them well in previous rounds, reverting to a four-man backline that proved woefully inadequate against PSG’s attacking prowess.
“At the beginning, the setback was strong enough with a 2-0 down. We knew that the task was really tough,” Madrid coach Alonso told DAZN. “At the moment, the feeling is not the best, but we’ll have to try to learn from today. They are a team that has been built in two years and we are just starting here, so it will take time.
“Right now what we need is a proper break. This is not the beginning of next year, this is just the end of this season. After just three weeks here, I think that we can take positives from this period, not from today. We take lessons from today.”
PSG, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final last month, were on the attack from the opening whistle and never relented against opponents who looked clueless on how to approach Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s goal even with French forward Mbappé back in the starting side after illness.
Dembélé almost scored in the fourth minute with a curling strike from inside the box that Courtois stopped with a brilliant one-handed save before producing another stunning reflex move to block a close-range strike by Ruiz.
But there was nothing he could do to deny PSG from opening a three-goal lead and the French team had more chances to extend its advantage further before the break.
Madrid made no changes at the break and PSG stayed in control, with Desired having a goal ruled out for an offside.
The Spanish side never came close to causing Donnarumma a serious problem and Ramos added a fourth goal for PSG.
Information from Reuters was used in this recap.
