PSG thrash Real Madrid and dream of dominating world football
The Club World Cup will have a European final. PSG and Chelsea will battle it out for the world club championship trophy on 14 July in New Jersey, with Donald Trump as guest of honour at a sport he claims to know well.
The clash between Real Madrid and PSG was the big match of this tournament, which was invented by Gianni Infantino as a legacy of his presidency at FIFA. A great idea, similar to the Super League, but impossible to play within a packed calendar. With a shoehorn and 150 million euros for the winner, the first edition got underway in the United States (it could not be held in China in 2021 due to the pandemic) with 40 degrees, humidity and exhausted players. Add to that the midday sun and a slow pace, and the eagerly awaited World Cup has become a formality for the greater glory of whoever survives it all.
And that team seems to be PSG, with Chelsea's permission, who crushed Real Madrid in a match to forget for the Whites. First, Asencio's mistake inside the area, then Rüdiger's kick into the air that left Dembélé alone to make it 2-0. The half-time whistle blew with the score at 3-0 thanks to a brace from Fabián and the feeling that they could play for 48 hours straight and Madrid would be unable to score a single goal against Luis Enrique's footballing machine.
Xabi Alonso donned his football doctor's coat and the players were scared. The same fear that Benítez and Lopetegui left behind. The same fear that hangs on a coat rack in Valdebebas and that no coach dares to wear if he wants to win anything.
The pressure from Vinicius and Mbappé up front never materialised. The Frenchman has had a nightmare Club World Cup, suffering from gastroenteritis that landed him in hospital, and he topped it off with a photo of his time at PSG posted on his Instagram hours before the match and days after withdrawing the criminal complaint for workplace harassment against his former club.
Xabi asked for one thing and the players did another. Defensive errors didn't matter. PSG danced around Real Madrid like they danced around Inter in the Champions League final. The well-oiled machine is the work of Luis Enrique, and all the players have decided to surrender to his way of understanding football. It's impossible to analyse Real Madrid's performance because it was an undignified disaster. The good news was the return of Militao and Carvajal and that the players have a short and well-deserved holiday before returning to action in mid-August against Osasuna in their first La Liga match.
Alonso's arrival seemed remarkable, but this match has set off alarm bells. If the Basque coach decides to force the stars to play in a way they don't want to, there could be a fire in the dressing room before Christmas. His influence is not total, and it shows.
PSG and Chelsea are set to meet in the first big final of a tournament that isn't, but will be, and will be big because FIFA knows how to put on these circuses better than anyone... and Florentino Pérez likes them. His Super League is similar to this and, one day, it will see the light of day. All that is needed is to buy goodwill and square the circle.