• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Lionel Messi might have dreamt of winning a match against his ex-club but Paris Saint-German made sure that this won't be the case. On Sunday at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Inter Miami suffered a 4-0 loss to the defending European champions during the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 matches, and that highlighted the huge gap that exists between Major League Soccer and top-tier European football.

As far as Messi is concerned, this match was more than just a knockout match. He played against a club that promised him to give so much but gave so little and it was an opportunity that he wanted to put to rest. But the Luis Enrique-led side didn't reach Atlanta with any emotional value but with an aim. Ever since the first whistle, they were at their absolute best. PSG made their presence felt during the first six minutes.

Joao Neves, who stood inside the box, scored a header during the opener as Vitinha scored a brilliant free-kick. He showed grit and resilience and these are the two qualities that Inter Miami didn't have for the most part of the match.

Even though the team was full of legendary players like Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, the team was unable to stop any attacking threat. Their defensive strategies were dependent on those players, who were behind the ball. They succumbed to the pressure situations.

Just ahead of half-time, Neves scored the second goal for PSG as Fabian Ruiz went past Miami's line and successfully scored the goal. Thomas Avil scored their third goal just after a few minutes as it was an own goal by Bradley Barcola. And when Achraf Hakimi scored their fourth goal, it had become a warm-up match for them.

Messi was seen nowhere in this match as he played the role of a lone warrior and that too without any help and looked out of sorts. The 36-year-old Suarez looked exhausted as he tried to cover the ground. Busquets wasn't at his absolute best. And Alba's usual bursts were missing. Javier Mascherano, who was the coach of Intr Miami looked as if he was still in the process of learning.

Although Inter Miami was able to give PSG a hard time during the second half and that's only because the French team had stepped aside for a while. They made the match look like a practice session. Messi too had rare moments as he attempted some free kicks from 30 years towards the fag end of the day. The ball went towards the wall.

With this loss, Messi's stint at the Club World Cup ended. He didn't score a single goal and suffered a humiliating loss and that left lots of questions. As far as Inter Miami is concerned, this match was a reality check, that America's dream of matching up to European football is quite long. And for Messi, it was a quiet lesson.