Soccer Football – FIFA Club World Cup – Semi Final – Paris St Germain v Real Madrid – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. – July 9, 2025 Paris St Germain’s Fabian Ruiz celebrates scoring their first goal with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — European champions PSG booked their place in the Club World Cup Final with a 4-0 demolition against Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
A near sell-out 77,542 crowd, predominantly supporting the Spanish giants, packed into the East Rutherford venue for one of the most hotly-anticipated games of the newly expanded Club World Cup, but the game was over as a contest after just 24 minutes.
Luis Enrique’s all-conquering side capitalized on two defensive calamities in the opening ten minutes to race into a two-goal lead through Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele and never looked back. Fabian added to his tally midway through the first half to effectively end the game as a contest and silence the partisan Madrid crowd inside MetLife.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos added a fourth late on to compound Madrid’s misery after a second half played largely at walking pace.
Xabi Alonso’s side managed just one shot on target throughout the one-sided encounter as PSG strolled into Sunday’s final against Chelsea.
On Wednesday’s evidence, they will take some beating.
Achraf Hakimi, who caused Madrid constant problems with his marauding runs down the right wing, praised his side’s “collective work” and paid tribute to the freedom that the team plays with under Enrique.
Portuguese midfielder Vitinha, meanwhile, praised his side for controlling the game throughout, especially after they raced into a two-goal lead early on.
“We always try to press every time, to control the game when we have the ball and, gladly, we started the game with the two goals. That helps,” Vitinha said afterward. “I think we controlled all the game and we could have scored even more, but we are happy.”
PSG took control of the encounter from the first whistle and could have been in front within five minutes, with Thibaut Courtois producing excellent saves to first deny a curling Fabian effort destined for the bottom corner before producing an even better save to deny Nuno Mendes from close range when the left back appeared destined to score.
The French and European champions did not have to wait much longer for the opener, however, which came courtesy of an almighty defensive error on six minutes.
Raul Asencio appeared to have comfortably with a Hakimi cross, but his touch was sloppy, allowing Dembele to nip and steal possession eight yards from goal. Courtois tripped the French forward in a desperate attempt to prevent a certain goal, with Fabian sweeping home to the empty net before the referee had a chance to point to the spot.
Enrique’s side doubled their lead three minutes later – again courtesy of a defensive howler. This time, it was Asencio’s defensive partner, Antonio Rudiger, who gifted the Parisians a route to goal when the experienced German center-half fresh-air a routine back pass, allowing Dembele to race through and curl an emphatic effort beyond the helpless Courtois.
A much-anticipated match-up between two European giants, this semi-final remained one-way traffic for the entire opening period, with Real Madrid often struggling to string passes together and work their way through the relentless PSG press. Alonso’s side recorded a remarkable 24% possession in the opening period, completing just 95 passes to PSG’s 384.
The Parisians, on the other hand, cut through the Madrid defense at will and added to their tally on 24 minutes when Achraf Hakimi was set free down the right-hand side before squaring to Fabian. The midfielder showed exquisite composure to evade a last-ditch tackle from Fede Valverde and finish to the bottom corner past a motionless Courtois.
The game was effectively over as a contest just halfway through the opening period, and Madrid appeared to know it, with Kylian Mbappe often cutting an isolated and frustrated figure at the head of the Madrid attack against his former club.
PSG appeared content to keep possession for the remainder of the half but still possessed the ability to cut the Spanish side apart at will, as evidenced by a flowing move eight minutes before half time that ended with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia blazing just wide from inside the area.
Enrique’s side appeared to settle for a 3-0 win in the second half, breaking forward with fewer numbers and playing at a much lower intensity. And still Madrid struggled to muster any chances of note in a forgettable second half.
Ramos’s goal, coming two minutes before the final whistle, added insult to injury. Hakimi, once again marauding down the right-hand side, found Bradley Barcola free in the Madrid penalty area. The French forward, however, dawdled on the ball and appeared to have allowed the Madrid defense to shuttle back.
Demonstrating defending that would be lambasted in the lowest levels of amateur soccer, however, Madrid allowed Barcola to turn this way and that before teeing up Ramos, who poked home unmarked from six yards out to put additional gloss on an already seismic result.
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